Pineiro’s 36-yard field goal in OT lifts Panthers to 20-17 win over Giants in Germany
MUNICH (AP) — Eddy Pineiro kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime and the Carolina Panthers made it back-to-back wins for the first time this season, beating the New York Giants 20-17 in Germany on Sunday.
The Giants (2-8) won the coin toss to start overtime, but rookie running back Tyrone Tracy fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and Josey Jewell recovered at the 23 for the Panthers (3-7).
“I just didn’t hold the ball correctly,” Tracy said. “I was trying to make a move, so I got in a hole. Got to get the ball up. That’s on me. I’ve got to live with it. I hold myself to a high standard, so whenever that happens, all of my emotions kind of came out of me at that moment.”
Veteran defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, who played for the Giants last season, forced the fumble. As a big soccer fan, he’d been feeding off the energy of playing in one of Europe’s most famous soccer stadiums.
It was “a thrill, excitement, everything I wanted, it was a high that I was riding since we got on the plane,” Robinson said. He added he’d told his teammates just before that he wanted to “end the game if I get a chance.” Robinson got that chance, and he took it.
The Giants rallied from a 17-7 deficit in the fourth quarter and forced overtime on Graham Gano’s 42-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining.
Gano, who earlier missed from 43 yards, was playing for the first time since September after a hamstring injury.
Chuba Hubbard, who received a four-year contract extension worth a reported $33.2 million earlier in the week, had 28 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers.
Bryce Young was 15 for 25 for 126 yards and a touchdown pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders in the first quarter. Young, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023, has now won consecutive games for the first time in his brief NFL career. And the Panthers have won consecutive games for the first time since late in the 2022 season.
Both of those wins have come late in the game after the Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22 last week on Hubbard’s touchdown with 2:18 remaining.
“I’m really proud of this group and the finish that we continue to play with and find a way to come away with these games again,” coach Dave Canales said.
The next challenge will be keeping that momentum going through a bye week and, after that, a game against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Canales hasn’t committed to keeping Young as the starter after benching him for Andy Dalton earlier in the season, but praised the quarterback’s improvement.
“I thought he had a great day. I thought it could have been a fantastic day. I thought a few balls got away from us,” Canales said. “We’ll take all the information, but Bryce certainly is making a statement to all of us. I just can’t tell you how proud I am of just weekly progress.”
Daniel Jones was 22 for 37 for 190 yards and two interceptions and Tracy had 18 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown for the Giants, who have lost five straight.
Jones led the Giants comeback in the fourth quarter as he capped a 13-play, 96-yard drive that took almost seven minutes with a 2-yard TD run to make it 17-14. And Jones moved the Giants on the 12-play dive that led to Gano’s tying field that forced overtime.
The Panthers took an early 10-0 lead in the first half on Pineiro’s 53-yard field goal and Young’s TD pass.
Tracy’s 32-yard touchdown run in the third quarter opened the scoring for the Giants before Hubbard answered with a 1-yarder to give Carolina a 17-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Sights & sounds
World Cup-winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer hit the Panthers’ “Keep Pounding” drum before kickoff … Neuer’s teammate Jamal Musiala, who’s widely considered one of the top young talents in soccer, was chatting with Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. on the sideline before the game. The Allianz Arena is home to Neuer and Musiala’s club team Bayern Munich … Referee Shawn Hochuli made a false start call in German near the end of the first quarter, continuing a tradition from last year’s first NFL game in Frankfurt … The whole stadium sang along to “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” just like in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany in 2022, and kept singing after the music turned off and play resumed.
Injuries
Giants: Wide receiver Malik Nabers was evaluated for a possible concussion early in the fourth quarter but cleared to return.
Panthers: RB Miles Sanders (foot/ankle) left the field on a cart early in the second quarter and did not return … Tight end Ian Thomas (calf) was hurt in the second quarter and did not return … Linebacker D.J. Johnson left the game with concussion in the third quarter.
Up next
Giants: Bye week and then host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 24.
Panthers: Bye week and then host the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 24.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By JAMES ELLINGWORTH
AP Sports Writer
