Panthers face New York Giants in a game they can’t (afford to) lose

For a good team, these are the sorts of games you just can’t afford to lose.

We aren’t sure that the Carolina Panthers are a good team yet, but they certainly have shown signs of it during a 2-1 start. The New York Giants really haven’t. They are 1-3 and in rebuilding mode after a horrid 3-13 season a year ago that cost a lot of Giants people their jobs.

So if you’re the Panthers, playing at home, you can’t lose to a team that is 4-16 over its past 20 games. Even if Saquon Barkley breaks an 80-yard touchdown early. Even if Giants coordinator Mike Shula pulls out a triple flea-flicker he never used in Charlotte that results in Odell Beckham throwing a touchdown pass to Eli Manning. The Panthers clearly should be the better team on Sunday. On paper, this looks like Carolina’s easiest game in October.

But strange things happen every Sunday in the NFL. The Panthers don’t want any strangeness. They want a boring win.

▪ Don’t you find it odd that Beckham, the New York Giants’ big-money wide receiver, hasn’t scored yet this season and is only averaging 10.7 yards per catch? Still, what a weapon. Beckham and Josh Norman had an infamous series of skirmishes in 2015.

I wonder if rookie Donte Jackson — who speaks about as many words per minute as Norman did and leads Carolina with three interceptions — will get into anything with Beckham Sunday.

▪ The bye really came too early for the Panthers, although they will try to put the best face on it that they can. Now they must play 13 straight weeks, which is a grind for even the best-conditioned athletes. Ideally, I’ve always thought the bye comes somewhere between Weeks 7-10.

▪ Giants quarterback Eli Manning has long been a stationary target, which makes him the sort of quarterback defensive ends love to get after. This would be a nice time for Julius Peppers to get his first sack of the season. Peppers (three total tackles, zero sacks, one QB pressure) has been extremely quiet through three games.

▪ Not surprisingly, Manning is first all-time in number of passes completed in a Giants uniform. Do you know who is third on that list? Former Carolina quarterback Kerry Collins. He only trails Manning and Phil Simms.

▪ Prediction time. I am 3-0 so far this season after choosing the Panthers’ win-loss outcome correctly throughout September. I think Carolina has a little too much talent for the Giants and won’t make enough big mistakes to lose a game the Panthers absolutely should win. My pick: Carolina 30, New York 20.

This story was originally published October 5, 2018 at 10:40 AM.