Graham Gano kicked four field goals, including a 56-yarder with 3:34 to play, to lift the New York Giants to a 19-16 win over the visiting Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon at East Rutherford, N.J.
The Giants are 2-0 for the first time since 2016.
Gano scored 13 of New York’s points against his former team. His 51-yard field goal with 12:31 left in the fourth quarter gave the Giants a 16-13 lead.
Less than two minutes later, it was tied again on Eddy Pineiro’s 38-yard field goal for Carolina. That tying drive began with Christian McCaffrey’s 49-yard run for his longest rush since 2019.
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, playing against his hometown team, completed 22 of 34 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. His key play might have been an 11-yard run for a first down to help New York seal the outcome.
Carolina (0-2) was beaten on a 58-yard field goal by Cleveland’s Cade York in its season opener.
Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 14 of 29 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown. McCaffrey gained 102 rushing yards on 15 carries and added 26 receiving yards on four catches.
The Panthers scored the game’s first touchdown on Mayfield’s 16-yard strike to DJ Moore on the opening possession of the second half.
Then the Giants got into the touchdown act on the ensuing possession when Jones threw a short pass to Daniel Bellinger, a rookie tight end who made his first NFL reception. He dove to reach the end zone to complete the 16-yard play.
The Panthers fumbled on the opening kickoff when Chuba Hubbard lost the ball. Then they gave away the ball on their next possession on Robbie Anderson’s fumble.
The Giants only made them pay with Gano field goals of 36 and 33 yards.
Carolina got on the board on Pineiro’s 31-yard field goal early in the second quarter. That 13-play drive included a fourth-and-1 conversion.
A 10-play possession concluded in Pineiro’s 32-yard field goal with 56 seconds left in the half. The teams were tied at 6-6 at halftime, with the Giants managing only four first downs and 60 yards of total offense (with 0 rushing yards).
–Field Level Media
