Keys to Victory: How Giants can stay undefeated in Europe

The Giants will look to break a four-game losing streak on a continent where they are undefeated.

For the fourth time in franchise history and second time in three seasons, the Giants will play a regular-season game in Europe. The previous three all took place in London and resulted in victories, including a trip in Brian Daboll’s inaugural 2022 season as head coach. This time, they will face the Panthers at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.

Here are three ways the Giants can go 4-0 internationally:

Following their 119-yard outing in Week 7 (first game without left tackle Andrew Thomas), Daboll liked the way the Giants controlled the line of scrimmage offensively the last two games. The Giants ran for 321 yards combined against the Steelers and Commanders, averaging 5.73 yards per carry with 11 of them going for at least 10 yards. That has allowed the Giants to be more productive on third (11-for-26) and fourth down (3-for-3) while opening up the play-action game in the second half.

But the ultimate goal is to score points.

The good news is they will face a Panthers team allowing a league-high 32.6 points per game. The bad news is the Giants are averaging a league-low 15.4 points. Something will have to give.

The Giants’ last two opponents have a combined 13-4 record and yet they took them down to the wire in one-possession games. One culprit for not finishing has been allowing the big play. Last week, Jayden Daniels found Austin Ekeler for a 28-yard gain on third-and-nine midway through the fourth quarter to help set up a field goal. On the next possession, Daniels found Olamide Zaccheaus for a 42-yarder that ultimately sealed the game.

For all the havoc they have brought upon opposing offenses with their league-leading 35 sacks, the Giants have not been able to take the ball away from them. They have just seven takeaways this season (tied for 24^th in the NFL), including just one interception by rookie linebacker Darius Muasau in the season opener.

“Defensively, there’s just a few plays each game that we’ve got to tighten up,” Daboll said on his weekly show on Giants.com. “We’ve got to do a better job of trying to get the ball out. We’re making strides, we’re punching at it, but the ball has got to come loose to play complementary football.”

Bryce Young is 3-17 in his career, tied with Troy Aikman for the worst record through 20 career starts by a No. 1 overall pick at quarterback in the common draft era (since 1967).

Worst Record by No. 1 Overall Pick QB, First 20 Starts, Common Draft Era:

• CAR Bryce Young 3-17
• DAL Troy Aikman* 3-17
• CLE Tim Couch 4-16
• JAX Trevor Lawrence 5-15
• IND Peyton Manning* 5-15
• IND Jeff George 5-15

*Went on to have a Hall of Fame career

Daniel Jones has four games with at least two passing touchdowns and no interceptions this season, tied for second-most in the NFL. Jones, Daniels, and Lamar Jackson are the only quarterbacks with three such games on the road.

According to NFL Research, this will be the 13th game since 2000 between the last-ranked scoring offense and the last-ranked scoring defense entering Week 5 or later. The last-ranked scoring defense is 4-8 in the previous 12 such meetings.

Malik Nabers is the first rookie in NFL history with at least 50 catches and three touchdown receptions through his first seven career games.

The Giants are the only team in the NFL that has two players with at least 50 receptions in 2024 (Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson).

Dexter Lawrence and Aaron Donald are the only defensive tackles in the last 10 seasons with at least nine sacks through their first nine games of the season.