It was an all-too familiar Sunday afternoon for the New York Giants against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
The game contained elements common in Giants games this season: a slow start, missed opportunities, some chicanery from the officials, and a late game push inevitably ended in defeat.
For the first time since the 2015 regular season finale, the Giants scored more than 30 points in a game. Eli Manning led his offense down the field in methodical fashion to take the lead late in the game…and, in the end, it didn’t matter one bit.
With one second remaining on the clock, Graham Gano kicked a 63-yard field goal to beat the Giants 33-31 in stunning, heartbreaking fashion. Gano’s field goal was the longest in Panthers franchise history and tied with Tom Dempsey, Jason Elam, Sebastian Janikowski, and David Akers for the second-longest in NFL history.
The Giants found themselves down 27-16 after Cam Newton and Manning traded interceptions. Manning hit Odell Beckham Jr. with a 33-yard touchdown pass and Rhett Ellison with a completed 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 27-24 almost halfway through the fourth quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing Panthers drive, Kerry Wynn was called for a roughing the passer penalty. The Giants entered Week 5 as the least penalized team in the NFL but penalties were an issue against Carolina. They were penalized eight times for 62 yards with the penalties sometimes keeping drives alive.
After a 12-play drive took almost six minutes off the clock, Gano kicked a 39-yard field goal that made the score 30-24.
Manning responded with a four-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown to Saquon Barkley. Giants took a 31-30 lead and it looked like a victory. It appeared that the Giants have some fight in them, that their season is not a lost cause.
Gano made that hope evaporate with the longest field goal in Panthers history.
The Giants trailed 20-10 at the half. Manning threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter and, in spite of it all, he remained calm and threw two touchdowns. No. 10 finished with 22 completions in 36 attempts for 326 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Beckham, who pissed off everyone associated with the franchise in an interview with ESPN’s Josina Anderson and rapper Lil Wayne, spotted Carolina six points when he muffed a punt. He also threw (yes, threw) his first NFL touchdown to Barkley in a little bit of cunning deception. Beckham had eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown. He was also 1-for-1 for 57 yards passing and the touchdown to Barkley.
In the end, it simply wasn’t enough. The Giants have plenty of reasons to be angry at themselves, Beckham, and the officials but they don’t have much time to lick their wounds. They return to MetLife Stadium to open Week 6 Thursday night against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia (2-3) lost a close game to the Minnesota Vikings 23-21.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL, the New York Giants, and the NBA. Please like and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
