Storylines to follow in Week 10 matchup vs. Panthers

Kicker Graham Gano has been designated for return to practice. Coach Brian Daboll announced the news Wednesday afternoon as the Giants began on-field preparations for Sunday’s game against the Panthers in Munich, Germany.

Gano, who hurt his hamstring attempting to make a tackle on the opening kickoff of the Giants’ Week 2 game at Washington, has been on injured reserve since Sept. 17.

The Giants had subsequently signed veteran Greg Joseph and the veteran made 13 of 16 field goal attempts in six games with his new team. However, Joseph missed this past Sunday’s game against the Commanders with an abdominal injury and was placed on injured reserve. That opened the door for Jude McAtamney to make his NFL debut at MetLife Stadium, where he kicked a 31-yard field goal and an extra point.

In addition to Gano, Daboll also announced that the Giants signed cornerback Art Green from the practice squad to the active roster, and punter Matt Haack, who was released on Tuesday, has re-signed to the practice squad. The team also signed center Bryan Hudson to the practice squad.

“He’s been doing a good job,” Daboll said Wednesday about Green. “Going to give him an opportunity at gunner. Some DB stuff, kind of fourth, fifth DB. He’s done a good job since he’s been here. So, that’s what we did.”

In other injury news, Daboll said that wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles), defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence (veteran rest day), wide receiver Darius Slayton (concussion protocol), and guard Greg Van Roten (shoulder) would not practice Wednesday.

The head coach said Slayton is not where Tracy was in the protocol at this point last week, putting his status for Sunday’s game in question.

“He could possibly not travel,” the head coach said about Slayton. “We’ll see where he’s at. Yeah, that hasn’t been decided yet, but if he’s not progressing where he needs to progress, there’s a chance we could not travel him.”

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.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced Wednesday that Bryce Young will get his third consecutive start at quarterback this week. The second-year signal-caller has thrown for a total of 395 yards across his last two starts to go with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also completed 63.5 percent of his passes during that span. This is a stark improvement from his first two starts, when he completed only 55.4 percent of his passes for 245 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions.

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.