The New York Giants delivered a turnaround performance as they blew out the Carolina Panthers last Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
The defense stepped up and the offense executed successful new plays. A consistent kicker made all the difference, as the Giants defeated the Panthers 25-3 for their second win of the season. “We knew it was going to be a great challenge and I’m pleased with the way the guys responded throughout the week,” said second year head Coach Joe Judge.
The G-Men were in full force for their Marvel Superhero Day, a special day when fans received a Giants-themed comic book made in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment. Quarteback Daniel Jones, however, didn’t think he was channeling his superhuman abilities. “No, I don’t think it was anything like that,” Jones said. “Just trusting in what we had prepared and what we worked on all week and trying to execute.”
Judge stressed the importance of their preparation following the game. “There was great focus from the defense throughout the week in practice in terms of playing together, understanding how this team is going to attack you, what are their different modes of attacking you and how we have to defend them,” he said.
Racial Justice Groups Demand Mark Zuckerberg’s Resignation After Facebook Papers Leak
Giants defense had six total sacks. Safety Jabrill Peppers made the first sack of the game. He led defense with four tackles and one assist. Peppers left the field when injured on a punt return in the third quarter. Conrnerback James Bradberry intercepted a pass by Panther’s quarterback Sam Darnold, who was making his first start at MetLiffe Stadium since being traded by the Jets. “I think their whole offense was getting frustrated,” Bradberry said. “I know that our front seven did a good job of rushing the passer today, getting after the quarterback, and I think that affected him today.”
The offense did their part as well even without the help of key players including running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver Sterling Shepard. It was a slow start for the Giants as they trailed 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. New York took a 5-3 lead at halftime, after an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone by Darnold, which resulted in a safety and later a successful field goal by Graham Gano. An extra push came in the third quarter. Jones did an unexpected quick switcheroo with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, which helped set the stage for a touchdown. He handed the ball off to runningback Devontae Booker, who handed off to wide receiver Dante Pettis who passed to Jones. Jones jumped in the air for a one handed catch, reminiscent of past Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. “Yeah, it was a pretty un-athletic route getting out there, so he put it out there for me and I just tried to pull it in,” Jones said. “Good play, good design, something we’d worked on all week. Good throw by Dante (Pettis).”
Shortly afterwards Jones delivered a 5-yard touchdown pass from the shotgun to Pettis. Gano delivered two more successful field goals in the fourth quarter, the first a 53-yard field goal, which broke a Giants record for 50-yard field goals. “People say it coming in, so I hear it, but I went up to the guys and congratulated them, because obviously it takes a lot more than me out there on the field kicking those balls,” Gano said.
Not satisfied, Gano said there’s a few things he wants to practice. “Got to hit my first kickoff better,” he said. “I’m a perfectionist at the end of the day and I just want to help the team win games, so there’s always things to work on.”
Jones threw one final touchdown pass to Booker with less than five minutes remaining to seal the game. Jones completed 23 of 33 passes for 203 yards and threw no interceptions. Darnold completed 16 of 25 passes for 111 yards. Panthers back-up quarterback P.J. Walker stepped in for the benched Darnold in the fourth quarter. He completed 3 of 14 passes for 33 yards.
This Sunday, the Giants next travel to Kansas City to take on the struggling Chiefs who were embarrassed by the Tennessee Titans 27-3 dropping their record to 3-4.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
