Carolina Panthers, Carolina Panthers Roster, Giants Beat Carolina Panthers 24-17
Carolina Panthers, Carolina Panthers Roster, Giants Beat Carolina Panthers 24-17
One game into the post-Plaxico Burress era, the Giants’ receivers are still an unknown quantity. But it appears that without Derrick Ward, the running backs will be just fine.
At least that’s the way it looked when, in the first preseason game, the Giants’ 1-2 punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw picked up right where Jacobs-Ward left off last season. Jacobs rushed four times for 31 yards and Bradshaw rushed five times for 35 yards.
Bradshaw also powered his way over a Panthers safety and into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown that started the Giants on their way to a 24-17 win.
The Giants won on the last play of the game on an 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown by DT Tommie Hill. Fourth-string quarterback Hunter Cantwell had tied the game with 57 seconds to play on a 31-yard pass to Jason Chery and a 2-point conversion pass to Andrew Davie. The Giants had a three-and-out series and punted with 10 seconds to play. Cantwell went back to pass and his arm was hit by Leger Douzable. The ball went in the air and Hill grabbed it and ran into the end zone.
“We started off pretty good tonight,” Jacobs said. “Guys were confident and felt good about what they were doing. We just have to keep rolling and get better as a team.”
“We did a good job,” Eli Manning said. “We ran the ball really well, hit a couple passes and we got a touchdown. That is always the goal.”
One goal heading into the game was also for the Giants to get a feel for their new-look receiving corps, but Manning (2-for-3, 31 yards in two series) and backup David Carr (6-for-10, 74 yards, 1 touchdown) didn’t spent a lot of time throwing to receivers. In the first half, the only receiver with multiple catches was Domenik Hixon with two for 23 yards.
The running backs controlled the offense just like they did for much of last season. Jacobs got things started in the first quarter with a 22-yard run that got the Giants into Panthers territory on their second drive. Two plays later, Bradshaw had a dynamic touchdown run on which he eluded safety Charles Godfrey and bowled over Chris Gamble to reach the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Jacobs was done after that big run, but Bradshaw was just getting started. He proved to be a triple threat, catching a dump-off from Carr and turning into a 13-yard gain, and overwhelming linebacker Mortty Ivy with a block on a 13-yard run by Carr.
The best play by a running back might have been by third-stringer Danny Ware, who took over midway through the second quarter and rushed 12 times for 21 yards. After a sack and forced fumble by Brooklyn-born defensive end Maurice Evans gave the Giants the ball back with 1:05 remaining, Ware caught a screen pass from Carr four yards behind the line of scrimmage and darted through the defense to turn it into a 36-yard touchdown and a 14-2 halftime lead.
“This is a great opportunity for both (Ware and Bradshaw) to come out and show the fans, the coaches and the entire Giants organization what they can really do,” Jacobs said. “They both took their opportunities and did a nice job.”
The first and second-team defense did a nice job, too. Carolina’s lone first-half points came on a blocked punt by James Anderson that Jeff Feagles batted out of the end zone for a safety. The Panthers were held to 91 first-half yards and the Giants sacked the Carolina quarterbacks twice and forced three turnovers.
