Carolina Panthers vs New York Giants Preview (9/18/22): Betting Odds, Prediction, Depth Chart
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Coming off an impressive upset win on the road over the Titans in week 1, the New York Giants (1-0) will host the Carolina Panthers (0-1) on Sunday, September 18 at MetLife Stadium. The Panthers are looking to bounce back after suffering an upset of their own in week 1, losing to the Browns at home. Read on for the odds, injuries and depth charts you need to know for this Panthers vs. Giants matchup, and see our prediction and picks for this game.
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants Betting Odds
It’s not surprising after these teams’ week 1 performances that the Giants are currently 2.5 point favorites at home against the Panthers, and between -135 and -145 on the moneyline. As of Tuesday, approximately 80% of money is being bet on the Giants (both ATS and on the moneyline) and on the over of 43. If the line crosses the 3-point threshold, I would expect more money to start coming in on the Panthers.
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants Prediction
The best thing that could have happened to the Giants happened in week 1: Saquon Barkley looked like the Saquon Barkley that took the league by storm as a rookie in 2018. Now two years removed from his knee injury, if Barkley is back to his old self, that would completely transform what this Giants offense looks like this season. I want to see it for more than one week before I can feel confident, but the early signs are very encouraging. The Panthers certainly look vulnerable to opposing runners after giving up 217 yards on the ground to the Browns in week 1, so Barkley could be poised for another big game, which would certainly tilt the odds in favor of the Giants.
Baker Mayfield didn’t get off to a great start in his Panthers debut, but he did start looking more comfortable in the second half when he led the team back from a 20-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 1-point lead with 1:17 remaining, only for the defense to relinquish a game-winning 58-yard field goal by rookie Cade York. While his numbers weren’t great, Mayfield looked like an improvement over the quarterback play the Panthers got last year from Sam Darnold and Cam Newton, and the chemistry he showed with receiver Robbie Anderson was encouraging. It was a bit perplexing that the Panthers didn’t get Christian McCaffrey more involved, and I expect that to change in week 2 against the Giants.
It’s hard to get a good read on this matchup after the week 1 performances. I’m a believer in new Giants coach Brian Daboll, and he earned a lot of trust from his team with his decision to go for the win and hand the ball to Saquon for the two-point conversion. I certainly have a lot more trust in Daboll than in Panthers coach Matt Rhule, but I’m not buying into the Giants just yet. I’m picking the Panthers to bounce back and get the win, with a big game by Christian McCaffrey, but I don’t feel very confident about it.
My Predictions: Panthers win 26-24, Panthers cover, over 43.5 points.
Betting Trends
The Panthers are 3-13 against the spread in their last 16 games overall.
The under is 10-1 in the Giants’ last 11 games following a win against the spread.
The underdog is 5-0 against the spread in the last five meetings between these teams.
The Panthers are 1-5 against the spread in their last six matchups against the Giants.
Key Injuries
Carolina Panthers Injuries: QB Sam Darnold (IR – ankle), QB Matt Corral (IR – ankle/foot)
New York Giants Injuries: WR Wan’Dale Robinson* (Q – knee), DE Azeez Ojulari (Q – calf, missed week 1), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (Q – knee, missed week 1)
*As of this writing on Tuesday, Robinson doesn’t believe the injury to be serious.
New York Giants rookie WR Wan’Dale Robinson will undergo an MRI on his knee but he doesn’t believe the injury is serious. https://t.co/waDnf5F4B6
— TheGiantsWire (@TheGiantsWire) September 12, 2022
Key Matchups
Check out the key matchups and mismatches for Carolina Panthers vs New York Giants below.
Saquon Barkley vs. Panthers’ defensive front
As mentioned above, in week 1 Saquon Barkley looked like he has regained the explosiveness he showcased prior to his knee injury in 2019.
Fastest speed by a ball carrying RB in Week 1
Saquon Barkley 21.11 mph
Joe Mixon 21.11 mph
D'Andre Swift 20.19 mphvia @NextGenStats / @NFL pic.twitter.com/69phLOi3r4
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 12, 2022
As Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt showed last week, the run defense is where the Panthers’ defense can be exploited. The Panthers have an up-and-coming secondary with two former top 10 picks at corner, and the 2020 runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in Jeremy Chinn at safety. However, their run defense was in the bottom half of the league last season and lost veterans Haason Redick and Morgan Fox this offseason. Expect the Panthers to see a heavy dose of Barkley, and if they can’t do a better job against him than they did against Chubb and Hunt, it could be a long day for the defense.
Panthers WRs vs Giants secondary
DJ Moore is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, and one of only two wide receivers to record 1,100 receiving yards in each of the last three seasons (with the other being Stefon Diggs). Despite a down year last year, Robbie Anderson is a good receiver with size and speed who had five catches for 105 yards last week, including this 75-yard touchdown.
BAKER 75-YARD ROCKET TD TO ROBBIE ANDERSON 🚀
(via @nfl)pic.twitter.com/cjErO9uNKn
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 11, 2022
The Giants graded out as PFF’s 15th rated secondary in 2021 but they lost cornerback James Bradberry as a cap casualty this offseason. Adoree Jackson is one of top outside cornerbacks in the league, and his matchup against Moore will play a big role in this game.
LT Ickey Ekwonu vs. DE Kayvon Thibodeaux
Thibodeaux missed week 1 with a knee injury, but is optimistic about returning for week 2.
Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee) seemed relatively optimistic about returning next week. Asked him how close he was to playing vs. Titans. He said with a grin: "If it was the Super Bowl, I might've went out there."
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 12, 2022
If he plays, this game will feature a matchup of two top 6 picks from the 2022 draft with number 5 pick Thibodeaux against number 6 pick Ekwonu. The Giants only had 1 sack last week against the Titans, and are hoping to get a pass rush boost from the return of Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari. Ekwonu allowed 4 pressures and 2 sacks in his first career game and PFF graded him at 41.1 for week 1 (17.6 pass block grade). Granted any rookie LT is likely to struggle in his first career game when he has to match up with Myles Garrett. If the Giants can’t generate some pressure on Baker Mayfield, I don’t like their odds of covering the spread in this one.
Carolina Panthers Depth Chart
QB: Baker Mayfield
RB1: Christian McCaffrey
RB2: D’Onta Foreman
LWR: DJ Moore
RWR: Robbie Anderson
SWR: Laviska Shenault Jr.
TE1: Ian Thomas
New York Giants Depth Chart
QB: Daniel Jones
RB1: Saquon Barkley
RB2: Matt Breida
LWR: Kenny Golladay
RWR: Kadarius Toney
SWR: Wan’Dale Robinson
TE1: Daniel Bellinger
