The Carolina Panthers have moved to 3-7 and winners of two straight after taking down the New York Giants 20-17 in overtime in Munich, Germany.
After forcing overtime with a last-second field goal, the Giants won the coin toss to gain possession in the extra period, but a fumble by running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. on the first snap of overtime gave the Panthers the ball. At that point, all Carolina needed was a field goal by Eddy Pineiro to get the international victory. The loss now drops Brian Daboll's team to 2-8.
Both offenses were a bit sluggish to start, but Carolina came alive on its second possession of the day with an eight-play, 90-yard touchdown drive sparked by Chuba Hubbard. The recently extended back had two different 26-yard rushing gains on the drive, which set up Bryce Young to find tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders for a red zone touchdown. That play by Hubbard set the stage for what was a career day for the back, who finished with a career-best 153 yards to go along with a touchdown.
While the Panthers jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first half, the Giants were plagued by inconsistent play from the offense. Daniel Jones had a couple of key misses through the air, which helped keep New York scoreless through the third quarter. A missed 43-yard field goal by Graham Gano also helped keep the Giants behind the eight-ball.
However, the Giants would rally in the second half and go on a 17-7 run to help force overtime. With just over two minutes to play in regulation and zero timeouts in his pocket, Jones drove the offense 55 yards down the field to set up a 42-yard game-tying field goal from Gano to help force overtime.
After winning the coin toss, the Giants coughed up the ball and the possession on the very first offensive snap of overtime, with Tracy fumbling the football. Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell recovered the ball, which set up Pineiro for the game-winning kick from 36 yards out.
Young finished his day completing 15 of his 25 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown. On the other side, Jones had 190 yards passing to go with a touchdown and two interceptions. Tracy had 103 yards rushing and a touchdown, along with that back-breaking fumble in overtime.
For more on how this game unfolded, check out our takeaways below.
Why the Panthers won
While the offense won't be mistaken for being a prolific unit just yet, the Panthers were pretty efficient throughout the day. They managed to build up a 10-0 lead in the first half, and then opted for a ball-dominant approach by leaning on Chuba Hubbard. The recently extended back helped churn yards on the ground, amassing a career-best 153 yards on the ground on at 5.5 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Young didn't make any crucial errors in the winning effort, keeping a clean stat sheet on the day with zero turnovers.
Speaking of turnovers, the Carolina defense came away with a handful of clutch takeaways. While the fumble recovery in overtime will be the crowning moment of the contest, they also had two interceptions that occurred deep in their own territory. That helped eliminate Giants scoring opportunities altogether, which proved to be vital in what ended up being a field-goal victory.
Why the Giants lost
It was an uninspiring start for New York on the offensive side of the ball, punting on three of its first four possessions on the day. The one drive that didn't end with a field goal over that stretch was a missed 43-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano in the early stages of the second quarter.
That inability to capitalize on their scoring opportunities plagued the Giants for the bulk of the contest. Daniel Jones had two interceptions with the Giants at or around the red zone, and the veteran quarterback was inefficient for the entire first half. He had passes sail over his receivers' heads or simply failed to get the ball out at the proper moment. That was on display midway through the second quarter when the Giants opted for a flea-flicker. Jones had two pass catchers open down the field, but simply didn't get the ball out in time before being sacked.
While the Giants did somewhat get into a rhythm in the second half to help force overtime, they couldn't capitalize with a critical turnover by Tracy in the extra period (which we'll highlight below).
Turning point
Of course, we have to look at the overtime turnover by Tracy. After winning the coin toss for overtime, all New York needed to do was drive down the field and score a touchdown to snap its losing streak. Instead, the Giants rookie back put the ball on the ground and the Panthers recovered the ball already in field goal range at the New York 24-yard line.
After positioning the field goal, Carolina placekicker Eddy Pineiro booted the chip-shot game winner.
Play of the game
Jewell had a nose for the football in Week 10 as he was a key piece of two Giants turnovers. While the fumble recovery in overtime helped propel Carolina to victory, the veteran linebacker also had an impressive interception midway through the fourth quarter. With the Giants threatening to score with the ball inside the Panthers 10-yard line, Daniel Jones threw a pass to Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the flat. The ball seemed to bounce off Tracy and allowed Jewell the opportunity to haul in the ball for the turnover and maintain Carolina's 17-14 lead at the time.
What's next
From here, both the Giants and Panthers will be on bye in Week 11. After that, Carolina will host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, while New York will host the Buccaneers.
