5 big talking points from the Panthers’ pitiful loss at the NY Giants
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers cannot continue to rely on their defense
Unfortunately, a team cannot go to the Super Bowl on defense alone in the modern-day NFL. Putting up just three points against a team who on ships 30 a game on average, you don’t deserve anything except a loss.
After three quarters, the Carolina Panthers were somehow in touching distance down just 12-3, again down to the play of Phil Snow and his defensive unit.
A score of 25-3 doesn’t flatter the Panthers defensively. But as in previous games, a combination of offensive struggles and shoddy special teams meant the Giants regularly had a short field to work with.
Similar to a week ago, the Panthers defense spent much longer on the field than their counterparts from New York – almost 10 more minutes to be exact.
Carolina’s defense cannot be exempt from blame. They were coming up against a Giants team missing an abundance of weapons, meaning this was an opportunity for them to stamp their authority on the game.
They forced zero turnovers and had just two sacks, although positively one was to Brian Burns. With so many players missing for New York, Carolina could have forced this game back in their favor but frankly, there’s only so much this defense can do with such little help from its offense.