Giants Head to Germany to Face Panthers

The NFL takes its talents to Germany this week, with the Giants and Panthers set to square off Sunday at 9:30 AM ET in Munich. In a bout between two 2-7 teams, one might look at this game and think it’s going to be a snooze fest. While I don’t think this will be the cleanest brand of football played this weekend, I do believe this matchup will feature some big, exciting plays.

Coming into this weekend, the Giants and Panthers hold the throne for the worst-scoring offense and the worst-scoring defense, respectively. Due to this, I believe we could see some deep shots down the field from New York, who will look to take advantage of a very weak defense. New York is down their second outside receiver behind rookie Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, and in his spot, Jaylin Hyatt will get the start. Hyatt has done little in his NFL career after being drafted in the third round two years ago. This weekend presents him with the perfect opportunity to make plays down the field and be the weapon that New York needs in the deep passing game.

This is a make-or-break game, in my eyes, for Daniel Jones, who will have to prove he can take advantage of a terrible passing defense in order to possibly save his career. If Jones can’t take advantage of the league's worst-scoring defense and muster up at least 20 points in this game, I can see Head Coach Brian Daboll making a change to Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito moving forward. This game is going to come down to what this Giants team can accomplish on offense, as their defense is easily capable of wreaking havoc against Bryce Young and company.

The Giants' defense boasts a formidable pass rush, one capable of completely disrupting anything that Carolina has to offer on offense. New York leads the league in sacks as a team with 35 and will look to add to that total this weekend. Dexter Lawrence has continuously made his presence felt and is poised to be the Defensive Player of the Year if his season continues like this. It’s going to take an all-out effort on all fronts from New York, even against a subpar team like the Panthers. In any case, the fans in Germany are in for a good game—one that should be full of explosive, exciting plays.