The Carolina Panthers and New York Giants will kick off their second preseason game of 2023 on Friday night at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.
Both teams lost their preseason opener, but one team looked much better than the other. The Panthers will be looking for a lot of improvement from last week, especially from rookie Bryce Young at quarterback.
This is typically the week of the preseason in the NFL where teams are playing their starters more to get them prepared for the regular season. I analyze the point spread and total and give my best NFL picks and predictions for the Panthers vs. Giants below.
Panthers vs Giants odds
Panthers vs Giants predictions
The Carolina Panthers will be looking to bounce back from an abysmal 27-0 loss to the Jets last week. Rookie quarterback Bryce Young played three series that totaled just 16 yards. Things did not get a ton better with Matt Corral, as he was sacked four times and threw an interception.
Carolina is expected to run a similar gameplan with Young playing a few series with most of the starters, and then Corral and the rest of the reserves finished it out. This means the likes of QB Andy Dalton, running back Miles Sanders, and receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. will not play either because of rest or injury.
Not only were things rough on the offensive end, but the backups on defense struggled as well. They allowed 14 points in the fourth quarter to the third-string offense for the Jets.
Meanwhile, the New York Giants didn’t play any of their key starters last week, but that didn’t mean they were at a talent disadvantage.
The Giants won the first half 13-3 behind the play of veteran QB Tyrod Taylor producing two field goal drives and Tommy DeVito leading the offense down the field for a touchdown. However, defensively is where they really shined. The G-Men forced two interceptions and two turnovers on downs in the first half and only allowed one touchdown drive in the entire game.
The Giants have an abundance of competition going on at wide receiver, and the cornerback position is also wide open with currently two rookies starting on the outside spots. With these battles going on for the Giants and so many question marks with the Panthers, it certainly seems like New York is in a much better position for Friday night.
The New York defense will be menacing against a makeshift offensive line for Carolina, so I love the Giants to cover in the first half.
My best bet: Giants first half -1.5 (-112 at DraftKings)
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