10 things to watch in Week 10 matchup in Munich

The Giants’ rookie class has undoubtedly played a big role so far this season. Both sides of the ball feature several rookie starters, which has led to the team’s first-year players being among the league leaders in playing time. The Giants’ rookie class has accounted for 17.9 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, the second-highest rate in the league, and 18.4 percent of the offensive snaps, the fifth-highest mark, according to NGS. This has led to the Giants having one of the youngest rosters across the entire NFL.

“They have the right mindset,” Daboll said about the rookie class. “They have the right DNA that we look for. And again, you’ve got to correct some of the things that happened throughout a game and be able to move on to the next play. But have confidence in those young guys, we’ve got to keep help developing them and keep growing them as the season goes on. When there’s good stuff happening and when there’s stuff that needs to be improved.”

Tracy was already discussed earlier, and while there are numerous other players I could highlight here, I’m going to focus on the first rookie selected in this year’s draft. After getting his NFL career off to a scorching start, wide receiver Malik Nabers has totaled just 171 receiving yards across three games since returning from a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks. However, don’t let the dip on box score production fool you. According to NGS, Daniel Jones has completed 55 of 82 pass attempts to Nabers this season for 557 yards and three touchdowns, which has generated the third-most EPA (expected points added) among all quarterback-wide receiver duos (+35.0).

Even after missing two games, Nabers is still tied for third in the NFL with 55 receptions, which is the most among all rookie receivers. His +33.2 EPA also leads all first-year wideouts, while his 557 receiving yards ranks second.

For the first time all season, the Giants’ defense was held without a sack in last week’s loss to the Commanders. Nevertheless, the Giants still lead the NFL with their 35 sacks on the season, four more than any other team, while their 63 quarterback hits rank fourth and sit just three behind the Ravens for the league-lead.

The Giants have registered a 35.0 percent pressure rate on the season, according to Next Gen Stats, which is the 10^th in the NFL. Their 44.2 percent pressure rate when blitzing comes in at No. 11. However, the unit’s 35.7 percent pressure to sack conversion rate leads all teams. Additionally, the Giants have recorded a sack on a league-leading 12.5 percent of opponents’ drop-backs.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence leads the team, and ranks second among all NFL defenders, with his nine sacks on the year. He also ranks third among defensive tackles with 28 pressures, according to NGS. The most impressive part about Lawrence’s dominance this season is the fact that he’s been double-teamed on a league-high 64.6 percent of his pass rushes. In fact, half of his pressures this season have come when double-teamed.

While Lawrence leads the team in sacks, Burns is not far behind. The outside linebacker has lined up on both ends of the line at almost an equal rate this season, so he’s likely to see both Panthers tackles on Sunday. Starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu missed last week’s game and unlikely to suit up on Sunday. Backup tackle Brady Christensen played all 50 snaps at LT in Week 9 and allowed four pressures on 29 pass blocks (13.8 percent). On the other side of the line, Taylor Moton has allowed 14 pressures on 238 pass block snaps at right tackle (5.9 percent).

“He’s been a good addition for us,” Daboll said about Burns. “Good leadership, good player for us. Glad we got him.”

Daboll added, “He’s a difficult guy to block, good pass rusher and then not knowing the player, called some guys that have coached him in the past when we got him, I was excited we got him.”

Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced on Wednesday that quarterback Bryce Young would get his third consecutive start this weekend in Munich. Young had previously been benched for Andy Dalton, but a thumb injury suffered by the veteran opened the door for the second-year quarterback to reclaim the starting job (at least temporarily).

The Panthers went 2-14 with Young under center as a rookie last year, as he completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His 2024 campaign got off to a similarly rough start, which led to his benching, but Young has looked a lot better over the last two weeks. In that span, he has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 395 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“I thought he was decisive, found ways to get the ball out of his hands, get it to their playmakers,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said about Young’s performance last week. “They’ve got really good catch and run guys. If they’re able to get the ball in their hands in space, they’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast, they’re tough to bring down. So, utilizing that, I think their run game, they’re doing a really good job running the football, especially on early downs. So just making sure they’re going to have complements off of that to help him, to help everybody, to help the offense. So, we’ve got to make sure we do a good job on early downs and then hopefully we can make them uncomfortable and go from there.”

Since entering the NFL last year, Young has been sacked a league-high 72 times and has generated the fewest EPA (-217.8) under pressure, although he showed an improvement in that area in last week’s win over the Saints. Despite totaling zero sacks against the Commanders last week, the Giants still lead the league with 35 sacks. Getting pressure on the young quarterback will be key for the Giants, as Young has completed just 42.4 percent of his passes (14 of 33) when pressured this season.

“I think everyone’s experience is different in their transition and what they were exposed to in college, and their experience in college and then their experience and situation in the NFL,” Jones said about the Panthers’ young quarterback. “Everyone’s journey is a little bit different. I don’t know Bryce great; I’ve met him a couple times and seems like a guy who works really hard and cares a lot about it. I’m sure he’ll get going.”

Let’s start with the offense, where the Panthers rank 29^th in points and 30^th in yards on the season, while their 15 turnovers are tied for the third-most. Carolina’s also has the league’s 29^th-best third down offense and 31^st-ranked fourth down offense. The Panthers have converted on 63.6 percent of their trips inside the red zone this season, the eighth-best mark in the NFL, although their 22 red zone attempts are tied for the fourth-fewest.

Running back Chuba Hubbard has enjoyed some success in the run game this year. He is averaging 5.0 yards per carry after gaining 665 yards on 133 attempts along with five touchdowns. The veteran has added 26 receptions for 108 yards and an additional score. The Panthers also appear likely to get Jonathon Brooks on the field for the first time this season. The rookie running back has been recovering from a torn ACL suffered last November while playing at Texas. Canales expressed optimism that the second-round pick would make his NFL debut in Munich this Sunday.

Following their trade of veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson last week, the Panthers have emphasized a youth movement among their pass-catchers. Rookie wideout Xavier Legette leads the team’s wide receivers with 26 receptions and four touchdowns, while his 244 receiving yards fall one short of rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders for the most on the team. Legette has caught a touchdown pass in three of the last four games, while Sanders is coming off a season-high 87 receiving yards on four receptions. Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jalen Coker has also totaled six receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks.

The Panthers’ defense ranks last in the league in both points and yards allowed this year. As mentioned earlier in this article, their run defense has given up the most yards and touchdowns in the NFL. Their pass defense has been a bit better, ranking 25^th in yards and 28^th in touchdowns allowed through the air. Carolina also has the No. 32-ranked third down defense, while their red zone defense comes in at No. 28.

Outside linebacker Charles Harris leads the team with three sacks, while former Giants defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson is right behind him with two. As a team, the Panthers have totaled just 10 sacks through nine games, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL. Harris and Robinson have also combined for 10 of the Panthers’ 25 quarterback hits.

The Panthers’ secondary is fresh off one of its best outings of the season. Starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Michael Jackson both allowed zero receptions as the nearest defender in coverage in last week’s win over the Saints. Horn, Jackson and safety Xavier Woods have accounted for the defense’s three interceptions in 2024, while Horn and Jackson have a combined 16 passes defensed. The rest of the team has a total of 13 pass breakups.