4 pivotal matchups that will decide Panthers’ game at Giants in Week 7
By Noah Bryce
Leonard Williams vs. Carolina Panthers OL
This is past getting old, it is long dead and buried at this point. But within the context of this article, it still needs to be mentioned and so it shall.
The Carolina Panthers offensive line is bad. We know this, it’s not going to get fixed and that is causing many problems for this team.
That is an issue against any opponent but it’s going to be exposed even more against this New York Giants squad.
The reason for that is Leonard Williams.
Williams is the team’s highest-paid player coming off an 11.5-sack season as a defensive tackle, which is incredibly impressive. When a player of that caliber looks at this protection they can’t help but be as giddy as a schoolchild getting a candy bar after school.
The Panthers interior group has never shown an ability to block anything more than the sun this season, and even then Darnold has to shield his eyes from time to time. What’s worse is that this group hasn’t even faced anyone close to the player that Williams is.
This adds up for a long day at the office for Darnold if the team doesn’t scheme against Williams with chips and extra protection. Something Joe Brady has seemed allergic to this season.
How this team holds up against Williams is where the game will be won or lost. Keeping Darnold calm and upright is the only way to get him out of this slump and that is the very thing the quarterback’s former teammate is wanting to prevent.
Somehow, someway, this team has to find a way to protect their quarterback or those three wins will be but a fond memory of better times.