THE BLITZ projects this game to see the 2nd-largest volume of plays run out of all the games this week at 131.4 plays, given the tendencies of each team and game dynamics.
The Carolina Panthers have stacked the box versus opponents on 26.1% of their plays since the start of last season, most in the league. Bringing an extra defender close to the line of scrimmage improves run-stopping at the expense of better passing efficiency.
The New York Giants have utilized play action on 28.4% of their passing plays since the start of last season (10th-most in the NFL), making the defense think run and leading to much higher passing efficiency.
The New York Giants have gone no-huddle on 30.1% of their play-calls outside the two-minute warning since the start of last season (2nd-most in football). This speeds up the pace, resulting in more volume and stat production.
Cons
THE BLITZ projects the New York Giants to be the 10th-least pass-heavy team among all teams this week with a 56.8% pass rate, based on their underlying tendencies and matchup dynamics.
The New York Giants have called the 8th-least plays in the league since the start of last season, averaging a measly 60.8 plays per game.
Opposing QBs have averaged 30.2 pass attempts per game against the Carolina Panthers defense since the start of last season: 2nd-least in the NFL.
The New York Giants O-line profiles as the 2nd-worst in football since the start of last season in protecting the QB, which has a negative effect on all air attack metrics across the board.
Opposing QBs have passed for the 2nd-least yards in the NFL (just 186.0 per game) vs. the Carolina Panthers defense since the start of last season.