Jacobs scores: 10-7 Giants

The Panthers' defense is having trouble. It has now allowed scores on each of its first two drives, much like it did last week against Denver.

Brandon Jacobs just bulled in for the Giants from 2 yards out, giving the Giants a 10-7 lead. Carolina's defense is having so much difficulty getting off the field that we're early into the second quarter and the Panthers have only had the ball once.

On the Giants' drive, Carolina's soft zone defense allowed The Other Steve Smith (the slower New York version, who's still pretty darn good) to catch 3 key passes. The Giants' drive was methodical -- they went 74 yards in 13 plays, taking up 7 minutes and 38 seconds.

Those are the kinds of drives that wear down defenses and win games. The Panthers got a lot better against Denver last week after giving up 10 early points to the Broncos, too -- they better start doing the same thing here.