What happens when a force that can be stopped meets an object that can be moved?
The New York Giants, with the worst offense in the NFL, will face the Carolina Panthers, who have the worst defense in the league, in Germany on Sunday. Both teams are 2-7, and the outcome of the game might depend on which team can fix their biggest problems.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales mentioned on Friday that the defense has shown improvement throughout the season, which helped them secure a 23-22 win over the New Orleans Saints last week, ending a five-game losing streak.
“I think there are some specific areas of our football that we’ve been trying to improve. Things that we’ve struggled with and we’ve seen improvement,” Canales said.
“Right up until last week, the defense was able to stop teams in the red zone and force them to settle for field goals. Where we scored touchdowns, they had to kick field goals. It came down to the last drive, but that gave us a chance to win.”
The Giants have scored just 139 points in nine games, the fewest in the league, while the Panthers’ defense has allowed 293 points, the most in the NFL. Giants offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said the team has been working hard to improve its ability to score touchdowns in the red zone.
“We need to do a good job down there. Haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be,” he said. “It’s something we work on every day. We get a head start on it early in the week, and we have to execute better when we’re in the red zone.”
The Giants will be without wide receiver Darius Slayton for Sunday’s game because he is in concussion protocol after last week’s 27-22 loss to the Washington Commanders. Coach Daboll said this will create “more opportunity” for rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt to step up.
