KEY TO THE GAME

WHAT WEATHER? There's talk that bad weather today could help the Giants, who supposedly are used to playing in it. The last time the Panthers played a cold-weather team in its cold-weather city, they beat Green Bay 35-31 in November.

Giants' INJURIES: Lots has been made of Brandon Jacobs' status, but receiver Domenik Hixon (Plaxico Burress' replacement) is also questionable with an ankle/foot injury. If he doesn't play, New York's already shaky receivers situation is shakier.

NO SUPER HEROICS: Remember David Tyree, whose unlikely ball-to-helmet catch helped the Giants win the Super Bowl in February. He has missed the entire season with a knee injury.

KEY MATCHUP

Charles Johnson

Panthers DEFENSIVE TACKLE

- If Maake Kemoeatu doesn't play, Johnson will be called on even more to help stop the Giants' running game, which averages 148.7 yards per game (tied for first in the NFL) and 4.8 per rush (best in the league).

- With Julius Peppers certain to be double-teamed for much of the game, Johnson could have a big day pressuring Eli Manning. He has six sacks, second on the team behind Peppers' 12.5

- Giants center Shaun O'Hara is part of an offensive line that's been getting criticized recently. Without running back Brandon Jacobs last week, the Giants rushed for a season-low 72 yards against Dallas. The line also allowed Manning to be sacked eight times.

- That said, the Giants entered the Dallas game with just 15 sacks allowed. If they can give Manning that kind of protection again, it'll help a passing game hurt badly by the loss of Plaxico Burress.

THE LIST

Most memorable Christmas presents when they were kids for three Panthers and a coach:

COACH JOHN FOX: "That's so long ago, I can't remember. A bicycle. It was either red or black. I think it was black. My mind only works in black-and-white going that far back."

LINEBACKER THOMAS DAVIS: "Probably a Sega Genesis console with the television and a whole bunch of other stuff."

TIGHT END DANTE ROSARIO: "I got one of those gas-powered, remote-control cars, the ones that go really fast. It looked like one of those off-road vehicles. It had shocks and everything."

OFFENSIVE GUARD TRAVELLE WHARTON: "A go-kart. I was in the fifth grade and had finished opening up my presents. My mama asked if I liked everything. I said yes, but I was disappointed I didn't get a go-kart. She said to look out the window, and there was the go-kart. It was crazy cold, but I rode that thing all day."

Panthers INSIDER

Kicker Rhys Lloyd continues to lead the NFL in touchbacks (24) by a substantial margin (Seattle's Olindo Mare is second with 20). His percentage of touchbacks (32.4) is third, behind Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski (34.5) and Mare (33.9).

Lloyd's touchback percentage has dropped recently with three in the past three games (out of 16 kicks). The reason? It's a little chilly out there, Lloyd said.

"It's getting colder and the ball changes," said Lloyd. "The ball gets harder, but it loses air. So it's softer, but there's not much give in the lower part of the ball. There's not much give in the sweet spot."

Lloyd isn't always going out there to kick the ball as far as he can. He will angle the ball away from a returner to make the ball tougher to get to.

"My kick [to the left] isn't necessarily my strongest," he said. "I don't get as much height on it. So if people overplay me to hit the ball [to the] right, it works for us because it takes time for their guy to cross the field and grab it."

KEY STATS

Giants

2: Consecutive weeks playing on NBC's Sunday night game, considered NFL's most attractive TV spot.

3-0: Coach Tom Coughlin's regular-season record vs. Panthers.

69: Consecutive starts by Eli Manning, tying Fran Tarkenton's franchise record for quarterbacks.

72: Yards rushing vs. Dallas last week, lowest since Dec. 24, 2006.

664: Career receptions by Amani Toomer, most in franchise history.

Panthers

2: Teams Panthers have never beaten (Houston, Miami) after beating Broncos for first time last week.

7: 100-yard games by receiver Steve Smith, tying for second most with Muhsin Muhammad (1996) in franchise history. Smith had nine in 2005.

25.2: Average points per game (25.4 in 1999 best ever).

47: Team rushing yards needed to surpass franchise record of 2,091 in 2003.