New York Giants 19 – Carolina Panthers 16

Julian Love – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS 19 – CAROLINA PANTHERS 16…
It wasn’t pretty, but the New York Giants gutted out a hard-fought 19-16 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants are now 2-0 for the first time since 2016.

The story of the game for the Giants was the defense and special teams as the offense struggled for much of the contest. Statistically, the game was fairly even with the Giants and Panthers both having 18 first downs and the Panthers having just 10 yards more on offense (275 to 265). However, the Giants won the turnover (2-0) and time of possession (35:57 to 24:03) battles. New York was also 6-of-18 on third down while the Panthers were 2-of-12.

The Giants had a chance to take command of the game early after two turnovers by the Panthers, but had to settle for field goals. First linebacker Carter Coughlin forced the Carolina kickoff returner to fumble away the opening kickoff. Safety Dane Belton recovered the loose ball and advanced it three yards to the 22-yard line. However, the Giants only managed to pick up four yards in three plays and settled for a 36-yard field goal by place kicker Graham Gano.

After picking up one first down on their ensuing possession, Carolina turned the ball over again when cornerback Darnay Holmes forced a fumble after a short pass on 3rd-and-22. Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson recovered the ball at the Panthers’ 40-yard line. The Giants’ offense did pick up three first downs, including on 4th-and-1, and reach the 2-yard line, but back-to-back sacks on quarterback Daniel Jones ended this possession with another field goal. The Giants were up 6-0 with two wasted opportunities for more points.

Carolina cut New York’s lead in half on the following possession with a 13-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 31-yard field goal. After two punts by the Giants and one by Carolina, the Panthers then tied the game late in the first half with a 10-play, 34-yard drive that set up a 32-yard field goal with 56 seconds before the break.

Offensively, the Giants finished the first half five offensive possessions, four first downs, 60 yards of total offense, and no yards rushing.

Momentum continued with the Panthers as the 3rd quarter began. After a quick three-and-out by the Giants, quarterback Baker Mayfield completed a 29-yard pass to wide receiver D.J. Moore, scrambled for 17 yards, and then threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Moore. Panthers 13 – Giants 6.

New York responded with their best offensive drive of the day. On 3rd-and-9, Jones completed a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Rich James. Running back Saquon Barkley gained 16 yards. Jones then found James for 12 yards and tight end Tanner Hudson for 15 yards. After an incomplete pass, Jones hit tight end Daniel Bellinger for the 16-yard, game-tying touchdown.

After three punts by the Panthers and two punts by the Giants, New York regained the lead with a 9-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 51-yard field goal by Gano with 12:35 left in the game. The big play on this drive was a 24-yard pass from Jones to wide receiver David Sills on 3rd-and-10. Giants 16 – Panthers 13. However, the Panthers immediately responded with a 5-play, 55-yard drive. The big play being a 49-yard run by running back Christian McCaffrey. This set up a 38-yard field goal to tie the game at 16-16.

With 10:46 left on the clock, the Giants began an 11-play drive that only accrued 37 yards. However, it took over seven minutes off of the clock and resulted in a 56-yard field goal with 3:34 to play. This ended up being the game-winning kick.

On Carolina’s final possession of the game, the Panthers picked up two first downs and reached their own 46-yard line. But on 3rd-and-6, Mayfield was sacked by safety Julian Love. With just over two minutes to play and all three of their timeouts, the Panthers punted the ball back to Giants.

The New York offense sealed the game with two first downs. After a 6-yard run by Barkley, a Carolina defensive lineman was flagged for encroachment. The second first down came on a 11-yard scramble by Jones on 3rd-and-6 to avoid punting the ball away. The Giants then ran out the clock to seal the game.

Jones finished the game 22-of-34 for 176 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran 10 times for 21 yards. His top two receivers were Sterling Shepard (6 catches for 34 yards) and James (5 catches for 51 yards). Barkley carried the ball 21 times for 72 yards.

Defensively, the team held the Panthers to 275 total net yards and forced one fumble. Linebacker Oshane Ximines and Love were credited with sacks.

Gano kicked four field goals, including a 51- and a 56-yarder. The kickoff until also forced and recovered a fumble.

Video highlights are available at Giants.com.

ROSTER MOVES, PRACTICE SQUAD ACTIVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
On Saturday, the Giants activated CB Fabian Moreau and S Tony Jefferson from the Practice Squad to the 53-man roster.

Inactive for the game were WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee), OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf), CB Aaron Robinson (appendicitis), CB Nick McCloud (hamstring), S Jason Pinnock (shoulder), and OL Tyre Phillips.

DL Leonard Williams (knee) left in the second half and did not return. Williams had a brace on his right knee after the game. Head Coach Brian Daboll said the team did not know how severe the injury was after the game.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

• Head Coach Brian Daboll (Video)
• QB Daniel Jones (Video)
• RB Saquon Barkley (Video)
• WR Sterling Shepard (Video)
• OLB Oshane Ximimes (Video)
• S Xavier McKinney (Video)
• PK Graham Gano (Video)

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will address the media by conference call on Monday afternoon.