New York
Giants (1-1) at Carolina Panthers (1-1):
The Giants should be 0-2 right now. New York fell behind
early and hard to Tampa Bay, and even entering the fourth quarter, it looked
like it had no shot of coming back. Then the offense woke up. Victor Cruz
snagged an 80-yard touchdown, Hakeem Nicks accounted for 200 total yards, and
tight end Martellus Bennett added 40 yards and a touchdown in the closing
minutes. The common denominator? Eli Manning. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say
it again: Peyton Manning is statistically the better quarterback. Eli Manning
is the quarterback you want in the fourth quarter of every game.
Meanwhile, the Panthers were almost on the wrong side of
their own improbable comeback against the New Orleans Saints, but a
much-improved defense (especially a secondary that ranks among the top of the
league in the young season) held off Drew Brees’ passing attack long enough to
deliver the win. DeAngelo Williams finally showed up, Cam Newton figured out
how to use his legs again, and he’s got a great weapon downfield that isn’t named
Steve Smith (looking at you, Brandon LaFell). Unfortunately, Carolina has a
suspect run defense, giving up almost 300 yards in the first two games. New
York will be missing Hakeem Nicks, Dominik Hixon and Ahmad Bradshaw, but given
the play of Cruz, Bennett, and running back Andre Brown last week, the Giants
will be able to pull out enough stops and put up enough points to get their
season rolling.
New York
Giants: 31-27
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