All three of Manning’s touchdown passes were to the second-year wide receiver en route to a 31–18 victory over the Panthers.
The quarterback spread the ball around to seven different receivers for 263 yards. Wide receiver Mario Manningham had 4 catches for 85 yards while Steve Smith—Manning’s go-to receiver last season—caught 5 balls for 43 yards.
Unfortunately, Manning also completed the ball to the other team three times. All three interceptions came on tipped balls, which was a theme on the day.
“Those things happen sometimes,” Manning said in the postgame press conference. “It’s part of football and you just got to fight through them.”
The Giants also had to fight through early struggles in the run game.
While the run game was sluggish in the first half, New York finished the game with 118 yards on the ground.
Bradshaw ran for 76 yards on 20 carries while Brandon Jacobs ran the ball 12 times for 44 yards. Bradshaw scored the Giants lone rushing touchdown on a third and goal, which he set up himself after a 39-yard scamper.
Defensively, New York looked much improved from the end of last season under new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
To counter their quarterback’s three interceptions, the defense had three picks of their own off Panthers quarterback Matt Moore. Not only were all three in the red zone, but they were also all in the end zone.
“We got some ball hawkers in the secondary,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “All those guys attack the ball and are going to go after it. “
And that helps Tuck & co. get after the quarterback.
“For me and all our guys up front that allows us to have more freedom. They’re going to give us more time to get after the quarterback,” Tuck said. “So we pin our ears back.”
The pass rush—notorious for getting after the quarterback in the Super Bowl run of 2007—recorded four sacks.
After surrendering 16 points in the first half, the defense stiffened up in the second half with a shut out.
The Panthers scored two points in the second half by blocking Matt Dodge’s punt with the ball bouncing out of the back of the end zone.
The rookie punter struggled all day with his punts, hitting a couple line drives. Dodge has the task of filling the shoes of one of the greatest punters of all time, Jeff Feagles.
Starting tight end Kevin Boss suffered a neck injury/concussion during the Giants first possession. The only other tight end on the Giants roster is Travis Beckum.
New York will hope that Boss can return to face Peyton Manning and the Colts Sunday night in Indianapolis.
“Hopefully Kevin Boss will get back real quick,” Manning said. “If not, Travis Beckum has got to get in there, know everything, and make some plays for us.”
Tune in every Friday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) on WSRU-FM as Matt Sugam co-hosts Scarlet Football Fever discussing Rutgers football as well as the New York Jets and Giants.
