Carolina Panthers rested off bye as New York Giants visit

The Carolina Panthers have used their versatility to be productive on offence, while the New York Giants are waiting for their offence to crank up the production.

The teams meet Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

The Panthers (2-1), who are coming off a bye week, have made the most of their offensive chances and seem to have settled into a good groove under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

"We are a team that can attack a defence many different ways as we get about it as the game progresses," Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said.

Newton is 27 career rushing yards away from compiling the most ground yards by an NFL quarterback with one team. He has 4,456 with the Panthers.

"I think Norv is doing a good job of featuring him as a runner," Giants coach Pat Shurmur said. "They're doing what works for them."

Turner replaced Mike Shula, who was dismissed last January. Shula is now the offensive coordinator for the Giants.

Yet much of the attention on the Panthers is focused on safety Eric Reid, who was signed as a free agent since the team's last game after the loss of Da'Norris Searcy to an injury.

Reid filed a grievance against the NFL claiming collusion. He's closely connected to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as he knelt next to him in protest during national anthems while with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Panthers are mostly concentrating on what Reid can do for them on the field.

"We have accepted him with open arms," Newton said.

The Giants (1-3) need to find ways to get more from their offence.

Quarterback Eli Manning is completing 74.2 per cent of his passes (compared to 59.7 per cent for his career entering the season), but those haven't translated into substantial yardage in many cases.

"What it boils down to is we need to score more points," Shurmur said. "There are elements of what we're doing is good. We've got to be more explosive."

Manning said there's no reason for alarm with the offence, which at times must determine what's best based on the defensive setup.

"It's moving forward and trying to eliminate the mistakes and trying to make the plays when they're there," Manning said. "A lot of it is just timing. ... We'll have opportunities to make big plays. It doesn't necessarily have to be throwing it down the field. Be accurate with the ball and let them make big plays after the catch."

Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley is aiming to become just the third player in NFL history to record at least 100 yards from scrimmage in his first five games. Adrian Peterson and Kareem Hunt are the only players to pull off that feat.

Barkley has become a threat in the passing attack, and that's a good thing because he's coming off a 44-yard rushing outing against New Orleans. His 27 receptions are second among NFL running backs this season and tops among all rookies.