The New York Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers, 19-16, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon to extend their 2022 record to 2-0. They open a season with two consecutive wins for the first time since 2016.
Here are some winners, losers and in-betweens from Sunday’s game.
Winners
Graham Gano: The former Panther nailed four field goals and and a PAT. His 56-yarder with 3:34 in the fourth quarter was the game-winner. He also had a 51-yarder earlier in the game.
Julian Love: Another solid game by the Giants’ most versatile player. He led the Giants in tackles with seven, including two for a loss, a sack and a stop on special teams.
Dexter Lawrence: He doesn’t always fill up the stat sheet but he fills up the middle of the field. Lawrence was pulled into extra duty with the injury to Leonard Williams. Lawrence had five total stops, a QB hit and a forced fumble.
Daniel Jones: His stats weren’t that impressive (22/34 for 176 yards and a touchdown; 10 rushes, 21 yards) but he was chased from pillar to post and held it together. Didn’t lose the game, which is a good sign. In fact, he won it with his legs.
Losers
Kenny Golladay: The $72 million man was once again underutilized, to put it kindly. He only played a smattering of snaps and saw no targets in the passing game.
Evan Neal: Neal was schooled several times by Panthers Pro Bowl outside linebacker Brian Burns.
Kadarius Toney: Left the game with an injury — again — after catching two passes for zero yards. He did return but then added a drop.
Cor’Dale Flott: Was beaten several times by D.J. Moore, once for a touchdown. Why Carolina didn’t exploit this mismatch further is a mystery.
Others: Jamie Gillan
Mixed reviews
Saquon Barkley: It would have been too much to ask for him to have another monster week but he didn’t fare too badly with 88 yards from scrimmage. However, Barkley averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.
Sterling Shepard: Caught six of 10 targets for 34 yards. Reliable, but lacked the big play this week.
Offensive line: Allowed nine QB hits and didn’t fire for the running game. They need time and health to gain some cohesion.
