Graham Gano kicks game-winning 63-yard field goal with 1 second left, Panthers win 33-31

With the game — and his 35-kick streak of consecutive made home field goals — on the line, Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano delivered.

Gano’s 63-yard boom with one second left in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants put the Panthers ahead 33-31, and when New York’s ill-fated kickoff return eventually rolled out of bounds, sealed the victory for Carolina.

“Piece of cake,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said afterward. “Piece of cake.”

Gano’s kick came after quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers offense led a game-winning drive with just over a minute left to play, following a touchdown from New York running back Saquon Barkley. A 20-yard pass to receiver DJ Moore across the middle, then a Christian McCaffrey catch and run, ultimately didn’t give Gano excellent field position, but rather just enough to have a shot at the winner.

That came after Gano had already made three field goals Sunday, protecting Carolina’s lead whenever the offense was unable to finish drives. Two interceptions of Giants quarterback Eli Manning led to no Carolina points, but rather turnovers of Carolina’s own.

But on the day when Carolina’s special teams unit was introduced pre-game, with all the fire and smoke and applause, it was fitting that Gano had the play to seal the victory.

Three who mattered

Graham Gano: He made four field goals Sunday to improve his streak to 36 consecutive made home field goals, but none was bigger than his team-record 63-yarder with one second left to win the game.

Odell Beckham Jr.: He threw for a touchdown, caught another, and gave up a third with sloppy punt coverage in the first half — and not to be outdone, this all coming after he dragged quarterback Eli Manning pre-game.

Mike Adams: His two interceptions of Manning didn’t lead to any Panthers points, but they certainly helped in keeping New York out of the end zone.

Observations

▪ Heck of a block by Newton to pancake Giants defensive end Kareem Martin on a first quarter end-around to D.J. Moore. Moore picked up 18 on that play on his own, but Newton’s effort cleared the space for Moore to operate — and made for one convenient highlight.

▪ Playing in his first game this season, WR Curtis Samuel made quite the impression with his very first catch. Samuel took a screen from Newton and, weaving through traffic, broke at least three tackles on his way to the end zone for his first career touchdown. He finished the game with two catches for 37 yards and that score.

▪ Considering the Panthers introduced their special teams unit pre-game on Sunday, it was only fitting that Carolina capitalized in that capacity. On a punt, Beckham tried pushing Moore out, a gunner on the play, out of bounds, but accidentally let the ball hit his leg in the process. Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins tried to scoop the live ball and save Beckham’s mistake, but Samuel hit the ball out of his hands and safety Colin Jones recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. It was Jones’ first career touchdown.

▪ Some trickery from ex-Panthers and current Giants offensive coordinator Mike Shula in the first half, when Beckham threw deep to running back Saquon Barkley for a 57-yard touchdown. Pat Shurmur calls the offensive plays for New York, but good play design by Shula to get the ball into the hands of his two best playmakers.

▪ Given his usage the first three games of this season, it was somewhat surprising that running back Christian McCaffrey hadn’t scored a touchdown until Sunday. His 18-yard receiving score in the fourth quarter put Carolina ahead 27-16. McCaffrey finished with 58 yards rushing and 35 receiving on 22 total touches.

Worth mentioning

▪ Cool uniform tweak for the Panthers, as every player Sunday had the initials of a Levine Children’s Hospital patient on their helmet. Mid-game, the entire team turned and waved when 21 of the kids were introduced. This comes the week after the team sported a “One Carolina” helmet decal for relief efforts for those in both North and South Carolina who were affected by Hurricane Florence.

▪ Former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman, now in the same role for the Giants, made the trip back to Charlotte Sunday and was greeted fondly by a number of his former players. Gettleman has been receiving treatment for lymphoma, and considering a recent clean scan, this was the first road game he travelled to this season.

▪ Safety Mike Adams’ interception near the end of the third quarter tied him with Oakland’s Reggie Nelson for the most career takeaways among active players (44). Then, his fourth-quarter interception made him the NFL’s current active leader.

They said it

“I’m not going to talk about a guy exercising his first amendment rights. I’m going to talk about what happens on the football field..” – Rivera, on safety Eric Reid, in his first game as a Panthers player, kneeling during the national anthem.

“Gano makes a lot of wrongs right. I’m just happy we were able to win today.” – Newton, on Gano’s kick.

“That was madness. That’s the only word I can used to explain it. I just don’t think it’s hit me yet.” – Gano, on the reaction after his winning kick.

This story was originally published October 7, 2018 at 4:37 PM.