New York Giants Week 2 Biggest Story Lines

The Giants open up at home this weekend against the Carolina Panthers. Here's a look at some major storylines developing ahead of that clash.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Sep 14, 2022 8:00 AM EDT

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New York Giants

Carolina Panthers

The New York Giants, fresh off their stunning 21-20 win over the Tennessee Titans, will try to replicate those results Sunday at home when they host the Carolina Panthers, losers of their Week 1 game against Cleveland.

The Giants are 50-44-3 in home openers but 3-9 in MetLife Stadium. While they look to build on the momentum gained from last week's game, they'll have their usual number of challenges to address in the coming week.

Here are a few of those top stories and challenges.

Stopping Christian McCaffrey

If the Giants thought stopping Derrick Henry was a tall order, this week they face a totally different yet just as challenging task in trying to slow Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, which can be a potential nightmare to cover as a receiver out of the backfield.

The Browns did a fairly good job of holding McCaffreyto just 33 rushing yards on ten carries and 24 receiving yards on four receptions. Last week, however, the giants inside linebackers had their share of adventures in coverage, so they can ill-afford to let McCaffrey find any soft spots in coverage behind them.

Benny with the Good Hair Returns

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule hired one-time Giants head coach Ben McAdoo as the team's new offensive coordinator. This will be McAdoo's first return visit to MetLife Stadium since his days as an advisor on Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy's staff.

Last week, the Panthers offense managed only 261 yards of total offense and converted 36.4 percent of their third-down attempts. The Panthers have been trying to ease Baker Mayfield into the fold since acquiring him via trade from the Cleveland Browns on July 7.

Mayfield went 16 of 27 last week, throwing one touchdown and one interception. With McAdoo likely having a little more incentive this week, it will be interesting to see what the Panthers offensive coordinator does to attack the Giants' weak spots.

Will the Young Edge Rushers Return?

Last week, Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux weren't ready to return from their respective injuries. This week, the hope is that at least one, if not both, will be on the field.

The Panthers' first-round pick, left tackle Ickey Ekwonu, had a rough time last week, allowing two sacks and four pressures. While Oshane Ximines and Jihad Ward played well in place of Ojulari and Thibodeaux last week, imagine how much more potent the Giants' pass rush, which was otherwise quiet last week, will be.

New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney (89) points to the crowd after the Giants' 23-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, in East Rutherford.
Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Will Kadarius Toney Earn a Bigger Role?

If receiver Kadarius Toney's situation feels a little like deja vu, that's because it is.

Last year Toney missed a large chunk of the summer and preseason with injuries and COVID. When the season started, his game snaps were limited, Yet when the coaching staff was put on the spot about the decision to limit Toney's snaps, suddenly, he began to see a bigger piece of the pie.

RELATED: Brian Daboll Reveals Reason Behind Kadarius Toney's Lack of Snaps

This year, Toney is off to a similar start. He missed all of the spring and a large chunk of the summer while dealing with a knee injury, and he played in nine snaps on offense in the regular-season opener.

Toney is far too talented not to get on the field, but head coach Brian Daboll made it clear that players have to earn their snaps. So will Toney do so this week in practice? The Giants' offense sure would be more potent if he did.

Can The Giants Protect Daniel Jones?

Last week the Giants offensive line did a stellar job with run blocking, the giants rushing for 238 total yards on 32 carries, 164 of those yards coming on Saquon Barkley's 18 carries.

Pass blocking, however, was another story. According to Pro Football Focus, quarterback Daniel Jones was under pressure on 53.6 percent of his dropbacks against the Titans, yet still managed to complete 77.8 percent of his pass attempts.

Still, imagine what Jones's numbers might have been had he not been sacked five times in the game.

What Will Saquon's Encore Be?

All off-season, running back Saquon Barkley spoke of his determination to get back to being the player he knows he's capable of being. Last week, Barkley took a big step forward to silence his critics, rushing for 164 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown, with a long of 68, and leading the Giants in receptions (six) for 30 yards. His 164 rushing total and 194 scrimmage yards were the NFL’s highest totals in Week 1.

RELATED: Saquon Barkley wins NFC Offensive Player of the Week Honors

Meanwhile, the Panthers allowed the Browns to rush for 217 yards on 39 carries last week, with Nick Chubb recording 141 yards on 22 carries. The Panthers will no doubt look to button up their run defense, but will they be able to do so against Barkley and the Giants?