The New York Giants led the Carolina Panthers 31-30 with just six seconds remaining in Week 5 of the 2018 regular season. For the Panthers, their only hope rested on the leg of veteran kicker Graham Gano.
Facing Gano were two drastically different potential realities: miss the kick and your team loses or send your team to victory with the longest game-winning field goal in NFL history.
Gano settled on the latter.
ICE. IN. HIS. VEINS.
Graham Gano drills a 63-yard FG with 1 second on the clock to win the game for the Panthers! #NYGvsCAR pic.twitter.com/aJ1I9QrMX6
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 7, 2018
It was one of the most magical moments in Gano’s career, but now a member of the New York Giants, don’t expect to hear him talk about it too often. Or at all.
“I had a feeling that would be the first question,” Gano said when asked about the kick on Thursday. “I’ve heard it a few times. I think it’s probably best if I don’t talk about that much here. That was as good memory. I’m definitely excited to be here now and hopefully too many people don’t bring that up.”
Although that kick may have been a highlight moment for Gano, things haven’t been nearly as positive in recent years.
Gano missed the final four games of the 2018 season and then all of 2019 after suffering a fractured femur in his plant leg. He was released in late July of this year and his future seemed cloudy at the time, but things cleared up rather quickly.
“I’m healthy now and I’m feeling really good. I have been kicking for a while. I was just excited for the next opportunity, it’s a nice fresh start. I feel like this is a great place to be. I’m surrounded by great people and it’s really been fun. I’ve only been here a few days but getting to meet the guys, the teammates and the staff. It’s been a really good experience for me,” Gano said, adding that he’s “extremely confident.”
“I had surgery up here in New York at HSS with the best doctor that does what I had done, Riley Williams. I feel like my leg is better than it’s ever been. I feel strong and I’m just going to keep getting better and better. I feel really good.”
There will undoubtedly be some rust after missing nearly two years of football, but Gano is confident he can shake it off quickly.
“As far as missing time and all that, that’s just part of the game. Sometimes things happen that are out of your control and really you can control what you can. My mindset was I’m just going to keep getting better at what I can do and just move forward. I feel you always have to have a positive mindset. Sometimes life is going to throw things at you that are going to be tough. It’s how you respond to it is what matters,” Gano said. “It’s 100 percent now and I’m ready to roll.”
