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5 Things We Learned

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5 Things We Learned: Rookies continue to grow

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The New York Giants will travel overseas to take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday in Munich, Germany.

Both the Giants and Panthers are searching for their third win of the season and hope to get it prior to their respective byes in Week 11.

The two teams last met in 2022 when the Giants picked up a 19-16 victory at MetLife Stadium. This marked the second consecutive season the Giants defeated the Panthers.

Several players and coaches met with the media this week prior to the trip to Germany. Here are five things we learned.

Giants excited for Germany

Sunday's game in Munich will be the second international game for the Giants under coach Brian Daboll, and the franchise's fourth overall. However, all three of the organization's previous international games took place in London. Sunday's game will be just the second NFL regular-season game to take place in Munich and the fourth overall in Germany; the two Germany games last year occurred in Frankfurt.

"We're excited to go over there," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "I think just the one experience I have to look back on is the London trip and just how much energy and excitement there was in that stadium, and the fans and how into it they are. That was a really cool experience. Hoping and expecting kind of the same thing here in Germany. Looking forward to playing in that stadium."

The Giants are 3-0 all-time in international games, with their last victory abroad taking place at Tottenham Stadium in 2022. The Giants got a big win over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers which propelled them to a 4-1 record. The team opted not to have their bye after the trip overseas and returned to East Rutherford to defeat Lamar Jackson and the Ravens the following week. While the Giants will have their bye after this year's international trip, there are still some valuable tips the players and coaches can pick up from the last time they traveled to Europe.

"I mean it's helpful to have done it once and have gone through it," Jones said. "I think, yeah, you know what to do. Try to adjust to the time as much as possible. You're not going to be able to fully get on that time zone, but just traveling, trying to sleep on the way over there and then getting your body back up and running Friday when you get there."

View photos from the New York Giants' previous regular-season trips to Europe, where they are 3-0.

Rookie class continues to impress

The Giants' rookie class has undoubtedly played a big role so far this season. Both sides of the ball feature several rookie starters, which has led to the team's first-year players being among the league leaders in playing time. The Giants' rookie class has accounted for 17.9 percent of the team's defensive snaps, the second-highest rate in the league, and 18.4 percent of the offensive snaps, the fifth-highest mark, according to NGS. This has led to the Giants having one of the youngest rosters across the entire NFL.

"They have the right mindset," Daboll said about the rookie class. "They have the right DNA that we look for. And again, you've got to correct some of the things that happened throughout a game and be able to move on to the next play. But have confidence in those young guys, we've got to keep help developing them and keep growing them as the season goes on. When there's good stuff happening and when there's stuff that needs to be improved."

On Wednesday, the head coach added, "I think it's important for veterans to have leadership presence, but I'd say our rookies have a lot of leadership in them too. Again, they're playing a lot of football. They're learning as we go, but they all have the right mindset. I'm pleased with how they act outside the building, inside the building, the work they put in and their skill set. I really enjoy working with these young guys. They're made of the right kind of stuff."

While there are numerous players I could highlight here, I'm going to focus on the first rookie selected in this year's draft. After getting his NFL career off to a scorching start, wide receiver Malik Nabers has totaled just 171 receiving yards across three games since returning from a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks. However, don't let the dip on box score production fool you. According to NGS, Daniel Jones has completed 55 of 82 pass attempts to Nabers this season for 557 yards and three touchdowns, which has generated the third-most EPA (expected points added) among all quarterback-wide receiver duos (+35.0).

Even after missing two games, Nabers is still tied for third in the NFL with 55 receptions, which is the most among all rookie receivers. His +33.2 EPA also leads all first-year wideouts, while his 557 receiving yards ranks second.

Burns ready to face former team

The Giants' big acquisition this past offseason came in the form of outside linebacker Brian Burns, who was acquired in a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Burns spent his first five seasons with the Panthers, where his 46 sacks across 80 games were tied for the 12th most in the NFL since he entered the league, while his 59 tackles for loss were tied for the sixth-most in that span. Now set to face his former team for the first time, Burns is excited to see a lot of people from the Panthers organization.

"There are a ton of people that I didn't get to talk to before I left," the outside linebacker told the media Wednesday. "Over five years, you build that bond with a lot of people in a lot of different ways. I do have a special connection with some people from the equipment staff, training staff and some of the lunch people. I've just got connections all over that building. So, I can't wait to see them."

On whether or not he has any extra motivation heading into the matchup against his former team, Burns added, "No, like I said, business is business. Business happened. I'm happy where I am. I'm blessed."

Burns was held a sack without a sack in last week's matchup against the Commanders, which snapped a four-game sack streak for the talented edge rusher. His five sacks on the season rank third behind Dexter Lawrence and Azeez Ojulari, while his 35 total pressures lead the team, according to Next Gen Stats.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

Preparing for Bryce Young

Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced on Wednesday that quarterback Bryce Young would get his third consecutive start this weekend in Munich. Young had previously been benched for Andy Dalton, but a thumb injury suffered by the veteran opened the door for the second-year quarterback to reclaim the starting job (at least temporarily).

The Panthers went 2-14 with Young under center as a rookie last year, as he completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His 2024 campaign got off to a similarly rough start, which led to his benching, but Young has looked a lot better over the last two weeks. In that span, he has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 395 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

"I thought he was decisive, found ways to get the ball out of his hands, get it to their playmakers," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said about Young's performance last week. "They've got really good catch and run guys. If they're able to get the ball in their hands in space, they're big, they're strong, they're fast, they're tough to bring down. So, utilizing that, I think their run game, they're doing a really good job running the football, especially on early downs. So just making sure they're going to have complements off of that to help him, to help everybody, to help the offense. So, we've got to make sure we do a good job on early downs and then hopefully we can make them uncomfortable and go from there."

Since entering the NFL last year, Young has been sacked a league-high 72 times and has generated the fewest EPA (-217.8) under pressure, although he showed an improvement in that area in last week's win over the Saints. Despite totaling zero sacks against the Commanders last week, the Giants still lead the league with 35 sacks. Getting pressure on the young quarterback will be key for the Giants, as Young has completed just 42.4 percent of his passes (14 of 33) when pressured this season.

"I think everyone's experience is different in their transition and what they were exposed to in college, and their experience in college and then their experience and situation in the NFL," Jones said about the Panthers' young quarterback. "Everyone's journey is a little bit different. I don't know Bryce great; I've met him a couple times and seems like a guy who works really hard and cares a lot about it. I'm sure he'll get going."

Injury updates; Slayton unlikely to travel

Coach Brian Daboll briefly met with the media Thursday prior to the team's final practice before departing for Munich. The head coach updated the status of several injured players, starting with wide receiver Darius Slayton. The veteran wideout suffered a concussion in last week's loss to the Commanders, his second concussion of the season, and Daboll said Thursday that he doesn't think Slayton will make the trip to Germany with the rest of the team.

In Slayton's likely absence, second-year receiver Jalin Hyatt should see an increase in reps. Hyatt has just one catch for six yards this season, but could be in line for more snaps against the Panthers.

The other player that did not participate in Thursday's practice was wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who is dealing with an Achilles injury. Guard Greg Van Voten, who missed Wednesday's practice, should be "OK," according to the head coach.

In other positive news, it appears as if the Giants could be getting two of their key special teams players back this week. For the second consecutive day, punter Jamie Gillan (left hamstring) and kicker Graham Gano (right hamstring) participated in practice. Gillan has missed the last four games, while Gano has been on injured reserve since getting hurt on the opening kickoff of Week 2.

While he wouldn't go so far as to guarantee that both specialists will return this weekend, Daboll said he is "optimistic."

View rare photos of the history between the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.