The Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants will meet on Friday, August 18th, 2023. The Giants will host the Week 2 NFL preseason game from Metlife Stadium. The start time is 7 PM ET. Both Carolina and New York have started the preseason with 0-1 records. Our Panthers vs Giants prediction focuses on Carolina’s shutout loss in Week 1 of the preseason combined with some skepticism of their top-tier coaching.
Panthers vs Giants Prediction: Giants win in Week 2
Carolina has the distinction of being the only team in Week 1 of the preseason to suffer a shutout loss. They fell 27-0 to the New York Jets, a result that will not be accepted even for a preseason game. The Panthers have a new offensive coordinator in Thomas Brown. He was the Assistant Head Coach and Running Backs Coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 2021/22, the season that the Rams won the Super Bowl.
There was some reactionism in the Carolina camp following the loss to the Jets. Judging by the headlines on the Carolina Panthers’ website, the offensive line is taking the blame for the goose-egg loss. Darin Gantt, a writer with the website, headlined “Offensive line has impromptu meeting after disappointing day” (August 12th, 2023).
Betting recommendation: Giants to win ugly
Thomas Brown is in his first season as an offensive coordinator. That right there should grab some attention from bettors. Is he in over his head? You could overreact to one game but Brown should be on everyone’s radar right now. Yet, you do have to think that a Frank Reich team should improve. Reich is 40-33 as a Head Coach in the NFL in the regular season.
Then again, what did we see last season in Indianapolis? A sputtering offense under a Frank Reich led team that may have ended the career of Matt Ryan. And what have we seen out of Carolina in recent seasons? A bunch of nothing. There is good reason to be skeptical of Carolina.
You have to like the Giants in this upcoming game. They’ve been the better-polished football product in recent seasons. Their QB2 and QB3 managed 16 road points against Detroit in Week 1 (preseason). Bettors should not be expecting anything fancy in this game. But the best bet appears to be New York on the moneyline at -160.
Further reading: Browns vs Eagles betting tips (Week 2 preseason)
