Merry Christmas! This is the season for giving, but last week the Carolina Panthers (6-8 ) weren’t in much of a giving mood against the playoff bound Minnesota Vikings (11-3). In a rare occurrence this season the Panthers were clicking on all cylinders on both offense and defense in their impressive 26-7 win.

Better late than never, I guess, but that game is history and now the N.Y. Giants (8-6) are up next and the question is, can the Panthers carry this momentum on the road this weekend?

Unlike the Vikings, the Giants don’t have a ticket punched for the postseason. They’re in the running for two wild card spots along with the Green Bay Packers (9-5) and the Dallas Cowboys (9-5), so there’s plenty of motivation for them to perform well.

In their 45-12 blowout of the Washington Redskins (4-10), the Giants looked like a strong playoff team, but let’s be realistic….it was a win against the dysfunctional Redskins. The Giants are playing better but the Washington victory doesn’t move me.

This is a team that continues to unravel more and more with each passing week. Their coach, Jim Zorn, hasn’t been fired, yet it seems to be a far gone conclusion that either Mike Shanahan or one of the assistants will be the head coach next season and players have also endorsed change in the media. With all that going on, what would you expect the Redskins to do in a game against the Giants, who have won three of their last five games?

By the same token Carolina’s victory doesn’t signify that all is well at Bank of America Stadium, though, it did reveal that quarterback Matt Moore is getting better performing on the big stage and is developing a good chemistry with Steve Smith, who had season highs in catches and yards last week….but will he be able to do it again?

The Panther defense will play a solid a game, which they have done for most of the season. The only question mark is behind the name of Julius Peppers. Will he be just as much of a nuisance to Eli Manning this weekend as he was against Brett Favre or will he be a no-show?

And the winner is?

Carolina is playing another meaningless game as it relates to the playoffs, but coach John Fox isn’t treating it that way as he continues to fight for his job. Amazingly, the players haven’t jumped ship either or thrown any of the coaches or each other under the bus….well, except for those comments made by Smith several weeks ago about the passing game under the controls of a certain player named Delhomme.

Beyond that this is a team that’s looking to build upon the positive results from the Vikings win.

The Giants know what’s at stake….losing is not an option, not to mention that Manning has been on a roll tossing six touchdowns with no picks in the last couple of games.

Come Sunday, though, I gotta feeling that Carolina will play the spoiler again and pull out a 20-17 win.

Damon Ford is a public relations professional who has worked in the public and private sectors in Charlotte. He is 7-7 in predicting Panthers games.
 

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