Giants’ Missed Opportunities
There were two passes that Manning threw that could have been touchdowns. The first missed opportunity happened early in the third quarter (Target #4). This play is almost identical to Target #2 on the previous page. The Panthers are playing Cover 3 and Beckham gets between the two deep zones at the bottom of your screen, while #41 Harper sprints to the center of the field to cover Randle’s post-route. Norman plays outside technique since he thinks he has safety help over the middle of the field, which opens for Beckham to run between Harper and Norman’s zones.
The Panthers bring pressure through the weakside A-gap on a tackle-end stunt using DE#95 Charles Johnson. Johnson loops through the hole and hits Manning as he is releasing the football. The ball lands about 3-5 yards short not allowing Beckham to take in another long touchdown pass. Give credit to the Panthers for the well-timed stunt as the right guard pulls across the formation. Newhouse, the right tackle, is left alone while Richburg is already occupied with his defender.
The next play was not a target to Beckham, but it should have been. The Giants use a vertical-switch concept sending him inside towards the center of the field after crossing in front of WR#88 Hakeem Nicks.
Manning stares Nicks down and fires the ball to him in the back left corner of the endzone overthrowing him. If Manning looked back inside, he would have seen Beckham cleanly getting behind the safety as the safety jumped forward expecting the pass over the middle of the field.
Norman’s Mistakes
Outside of the multiple blown coverages I showed before, Norman missed an easy sack opportunity on a cornerback blitz. While in the second play, Norman was lazy in run defense and consequently was late in his tackle attempt on the Giants’ running back. This play resulted in a 38 yard touchdown run by #23 Jennings.
The only targets I left out of this breakdown were Kuechly’s defensive pass interference, and the two hitch routes run by Beckham on the sideline. All three of these plays were run against the Panthers’ Cover 2 defensive shell. Kuechly was playing his deep middle linebacker zone responsibilities while he held Beckham on a post route. As far as the other two targets, Beckham showed his signature quickness on hitch routes underneath Norman’s zone coverage by the sideline. Norman, however, did a great job of wrapping up the receiver before he could gain any more yards after the catch, though.
Overall, both players made clear mistakes this game earning themselves negative grades by ProFootballFocus. The Panthers play the Falcons next weekend in their quest to remain undefeated, while the Giants play the Vikings in hopes to keep their playoff aspirations alive.
Follow Samuel Gold on Twitter: @SamuelRGold.
