Carolina Panthers win on Graham Gano field goal as time expired

The Carolina Panthers needed a 63-yard field goal from Graham Gano as time expired to beat the New York Giants 33-31.

The Carolina Panthers moved to 3-1 on the season thanks to a 63-yard field goal from Graham Gano to give them a 33-31 lead as time expired over the New York Giants. The Panthers led for most of the game after taking a 7-3 lead on Curtis Samuel’s touchdown reception in the first quarter.

The Panthers grew that lead to 17-3 thanks to a fumble recovery by Colin Jones on a Panthers’ punt in the second quarter and a Graham Gano field goal. However, the defense couldn’t keep the Giants out of the end zone and the scoring seemed to go back and forth for the rest of the game.

The fourth quarter was when the scoring picked up for both teams as they combined for 28 points with the Giants taking a 31-30 lead with 1:08 remaining in regulation on a 15-yard reception by running back Saquon Barkley, his second receiving touchdown on the day.

The Panthers offense, led by Cam Newton, was able to pick up 30 yards on eight plays on the final drive, which included a 20-yard reception by rookie DJ Moore to set Gano up for the field goal attempt. The 63-yard field goal was one yard short of the NFL record for field goals made as time expired. The record of 64 was set by Matt Prater, then with the Denver Broncos in 2013.

This was not the cleanest game for the Carolina Panthers as the team gave up over 450 yards to the Giants and turned the ball over two times. However, they were able to do just enough to secure the win and move to 3-1.

The Carolina Panthers will now turn their attention to next week as they travel to face the Washington Redskins.