Monday, December 22, 2008
Brandon Jacobs scored three touchdowns for New York in a 34-28 victory.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Brandon Jacobs scored three touchdowns for New York, the last coming with 10:09 left in overtime, to lead the Giants past the Carolina Panthers, 34-28, Sunday night.
Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run with 3:21 left in regulation, and Eli Manning hit Domenik Hixon for a tying two-point conversion to tie the score at 28 and force overtime.
The teams traded punts in the extra session before the Giants drove 87 yards in six plays for the winning points.
Backup Derrick Ward, who rushed for 215 yards on the night, had a 51-yarder on the first play of the drive to set up the Giants in Carolina territory.
DeAngelo Williams ran for four touchdowns for Carolina. Williams tied his own team record for rushing touchdowns in a game and the four scores gave him 20 touchdowns this season, breaking the Panthers’ record of 16 that he shared with Muhsin Muhammad.
Williams’ fourth score was a 30-yard scamper 2:10 into the fourth quarter that gave the Panthers a 28-20 lead.
The Giants drove 44 yards in seven plays for the equalizer, with Kevin Boss putting New York in position with 12-yard catch to the 5.
On the following play, cornerback Ken Lucas was whistled for pass interference against Hixon in the end zone.
The Giant got the ball on the 1 and Jacobs punched it in.
The Panthers had a final shot to win in regulation, but John Kasay’s 50-yard field goal attempt was wide left with four seconds remaining
The Giants got the only points of the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Kevin Boss with 59 seconds left. Derrick Ward had the longest gain in the 12-play, 84-yard drive, a 22-yard run that moved the Giants to the Panthers 33.
Carolina scored on its first three possessions in the battle for the top seed in the NFC and homefield advantage through the conference championship.
After Jacobs gave the Gaints a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter on a 2-yard run, the Panthers made it 14-10 lead with 8:12 remaining. Williams scored again, this time from 5 yards out.
Jacobs, back in the lineup after missing the previous six quarters with a knee injury, rushed 24 times for 87 yards.