Giants Secure #1 Seed in the NFC With 34-28 Overtime Victory: In a thrilling, dramatic contest, the New York Giants secured the #1 seed in the NFC with a 34-28 overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers at the Meadowlands Sunday night. The win improved the Giants record to 12-3 while the Panthers fell to 11-4. The Giants are now assured of home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and will also benefit from a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. Next week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings now becomes virtually meaningless for the Giants.
The story of the game was the Giants’ running attack. The Giants rushed for 301 yards, the fifth-highest total in team history and their highest total in 49 years. HB Derrick Ward rushed for 215 yards on 15 carries, a 14.3 yards per carry average. It was the fourth-highest individual rushing performance in Giants’ history. HB Brandon Jacobs rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.
The Giants’ defense also allowed 158 rushing yards, the most given up by the team this season.
Neither team turned the football over.
The Giants scored 10 points on their first two drives of the game, first by marching 61 yards in nine plays to set up a 32-yard field goal by PK John Carney. The second drive was a 13-play, 74-yard affair capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Jacobs.
The Panthers were even more productive, scoring three touchdowns on their first three possessions of the game with drives of 77, 66, and 65 yards and Panthers’ halfback DeAngelo Williams scoring three times.
After two punts, the Giants did managed another scoring drive right before halftime by moving 38 yards in five plays to set up Carney from 35 yards out.
At the half, the Giants trailed 21-13.
The Giants’ defense improved dramatically in the second half as the Panthers were forced to punt on their first two possessions of the third quarter. Meanwhile, after a three-and-out by the Giants, New York did drive 84 yards in 12 plays to cut the score to 21-20 with QB Eli Manning finding TE Kevin Boss for a 4-yard touchdown pass.
Unfortunately, Carolina then responded with a 7-play, 63-yard effort that culminated with Williams’ fourth touchdown run of the game, this one from 30 yards out early in the fourth quarter. Panthers 28-Giants 20.
Both teams then exchanged punts. With just over seven minutes to play, the Giants put together a 7-play, 44-yard do-or-die drive, resulting in a 1-yard touchdown run by Jacobs and a 2-point conversion by Manning to WR Domenik Hixon. The game was tied at 28-28 with just over three minutes to play.
Carolina had one final chance to win the game in regulation as the Panthers drove from their own 38-yard line to the Giants’ 33-yard line. But Carolina’s 50-yard field goal attempt went wide left and the game went into overtime.
The Giants won the toss in OT, but could not manage a first down and punted. The Giants’ defense also held and Carolina went three-and-out.
On the first play of the Giants’ second possession in OT, Ward broke off a 51-yard run down to the Panthers’ 36-yard line. Then on 3rd-and-7, Ward gained 14 yards. On the very next play, he picked up another 17. Jacobs then ended the game with a 2-yard power run right up the gut.
“What a game,” said Boss. “It was a classic right there. We needed that so bad. We needed to get back into the win column and get that first round bye. It feels good. That game right there shows our true character. We just never gave up; we kept fighting and kept battling.”
“We are never too high; we are never too low,” said Hixon. “We lost two games and here we are coming in against the hottest team in the NFL. We just kept on chopping wood. We kept on playing football and keep on making plays. There is no quitting on this team. We were down 21-10 but we have a lot of confidence and we just kept on playing. Our confidence is really strong.”
“We knew that this game was one that we had to finish,” said LT David Diehl. “Coach Coughlin said this week that this game is going to be all about the will, who wants it more, who is going to sell out for 60 minutes…This is huge win. It is putting us on the path in the postseason where we want to go.”
Post-Game Notes: Inactive for the Giants were WR Sinorice Moss (calf), WR Derek Hagan, OT Adam Koets, DE Jerome McDougle, DT Leger Douzable, LB Gerris Wilkinson (knee), CB Sam Madison, and PK Lawrence Tynes.
The Giants’ honorary captain was Hall of Fame DE Andy Robustelli.
The Giant finished the 2008 regular season 7-1 at Giants Stadium.
This is the eighth time in franchise history that the Giants have won at least 12 games in a season.
The Giants are 2-0 in overtime games this season. In the last five seasons under Head Coach Tom Coughlin, the Giants are now 4-2 in overtime games.
This was the Giants’ second victory this season after trailing at halftime. In September, the Giants trailed the Cincinnati Bengals 13-10 at the half, but rallied for a 26-23 overtime victory.
This was the second time this season the Giants won after trailing entering the fourth quarter. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in October, the Giants trailed 14-9, but won 21-14.
The Giants’ defense did not pick up a sack in a game for the fourth time this season. This was the third consecutive game in which the Giants’ defense did not have a takeaway.
HB Derrick Ward has rushed for 948 yards this season, the highest total by a backup running back in franchise history. HB Brandon Jacobs has rushed for 1,089 yards this year. If Ward rushes for 52 yards in the season finale at Minnesota, the Giants will become the fourth team in history with two 1,000-yard rushers, joining the 1972 Miami Dolphins (Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris), 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers (Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier), and 1985 Cleveland Browns (Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner).
Jacobs’ 15 rushing touchdowns in a single season are only second to HB Joe Morris’ 21 in 1985.
QB Eli Manning has become the first quarterback in Giants’ history with four consecutive 3,000-yard seasons.