The Giants were competitive on Sunday, as the Washington Commanders held them off, 27-22, dropping New York to 2-7. Clearly, the season isn’t going to plan, but the Giants have a chance to get back on track in a winnable game against the Carolina Panthers in Germany.
Here are some of the biggest stories to watch as Big Blue looks to snap a four-game losing streak…
Would a Panthers win lead to a coach being fired again?
Carolina won its second game of the season when it beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22 on Sunday. The next day, the Saints announced that head coach Dennis Allen had been fired. Could Giants head coach Brian Daboll be facing a similar fate?
The Giants are heading into their bye week after Sunday’s game so, if they can’t beat the lowly Panthers, it would be as convenient a time as any for an in-season coaching change. Although Big Blue has previously said that isn’t something it plans to do.
Will the players who were not traded be motivated to perform?
The Giants opted to stay pat at the trade deadline, despite earlier rumors that players like wide receiver Darius Slayton (who won’t play in Germany) and pass rusher Azeez Ojulari might be on the block.
Ojulari has five sacks in the last four games; however, he could have been moved to a contender and would now be looking ahead to a postseason run. At least he is a free agent at the end of the year, so he has every motivation to close out the year strong.
Can Daniel Jones continue to make plays with his legs?
The QB has been looking like he’s back to close to 100 percent physically following his knee injury last season. The latest sign was in Sunday’s game where he had a season-high total on the ground and his longest run of the season.
Despite completing just four passes for zero yards in the first half, Jones ended up with a decent statline against the Commanders and was in a good rhythm after halftime, making several nice throws. If he can make plays with his legs, this will open up other things for the Giants in their passing game.
Can New York get Malik Nabers involved on a more consistent basis?
The rookie WR seemed somewhat frustrated with the game plan against Washington. The Giants had some success running the ball in the first half, but one byproduct of this was that Nabers didn’t record a catch and was only targeted once.
After halftime, the Giants made a concerted effort to get him the ball and he ended up with nine catches, albeit that he didn’t really have any big plays and ended up with just 59 receiving yards. Surely it will be more effective for the Giants to keep Nabers involved throughout the game, so look for that to be the approach this week.
Will Brian Burns have a big game against his old team?
Burns spent his first five seasons with the Panthers, recording at least 7.5 sacks in each season. Carolina traded the defensive end to New York in the offseason, and the Giants then signed him to a big contract extension so now he’ll get a chance to play against his former team.
Burns has had a solid year with five sacks and already surpassed his career-high with a team-leading seven passes defended. However, he perhaps hasn’t made the overall impact Giants fans were hoping for.
In Sunday’s game, Burns will look to add to that sack total but will also play a key role in slowing down running back Chuba Hubbard, who is currently fifth in the NFL in rushing yards.
