Who Ya Got: Carolina Panthers or New York Giants?

We have a huge update in the New York Giants @ Carolina Panthers game. It has been reported that WR Hakeem Nicks, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, WR Domenik Hixon, and OT David Diehl are all ruled out for Thursday’s game. This news moved the spread from Giants (-1.5) to Panthers (-2), a 3.5-point swing.

Read our full analysis of the game here. I was liking the Panthers pick before this news came out and now I like this pick even more. I am raising the confidence level of this pick from a 6/10 to an 8/10. Hakeem Nicks is the key injury for me here. With Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw, and the Giants third receiver all sidelined, the Panthers are afforded the ability to keep a safety deep to prevent the deep ball to Victor Cruz.

I’m not too worried about Andre Brown and Reuben Randle stepping up for the injured Bradshaw and Nicks. The Panthers will just double cover Victor Cruz all game and they’ll be fine. The Giants have TE Martellus Bennet who will be targeted a lot in this game, but he’ll have his hands full with Jon Beason and Luke Kuechly on top of him throughout the game.

The Panthers offense that ranked 7th in total yards gained, 3rd in rushing yards, and 5th in points last year will be just fine against a defense that’s given up an average of 370 yards and 29 points per game so far this year. Who do you like in this one? Vote below!

Prediction: Panthers 31 – Giants 20

Pick Against the Spread: Panthers -2 (Confidence: 8/10)

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