New York Giants Dominate Second Half, Handle Young Carolina Panthers

The Panthers hung with the Giants for two quarters in the season opener at the Meadowlands Sunday afternoon, but in the end, the Giants proved too much for a young Carolina squad.

“Like all openers, everybody struggles to some degree—you haven’t done it in a year,” Panthers head coach John Fox said after the game.

But the Giants didn’t seem to struggle, torching the Carolina defense for 376 yards, 258 of which came through the air, and Eli Manning connected with second-year receiver Hakeem Nicks for three touchdowns.

The Panthers enjoyed a 16-14 halftime lead after Matt Moore hit Steve Smith for a 19-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half, but the Giants responded, scoring 17 unanswered points.

“I thought in the first half we did some decent things in the passing game,” said Fox. “As the game wore on it got a little bit more in their advantage…There’s no question that they made more plays that we did and we made more mistakes than they did. Interceptions in the end zones are critical mistakes, and blown coverages are critical mistakes that I thought were the difference in the game.”

Moore threw three interceptions, two of which came in the fourth quarter and one of which came inside the Giants’ 12-yard line.

The Panthers’ only second-half points came on a blocked punt that went through the end zone, resulting in a safety, and the Panthers fell to the Giants, 31-18.

The Panthers host division rival Tampa Bay next Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT.

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