Panthers pounce on Giants OT fumble to win back-to-back games for first time since 2021

New York tied things up off a last-second field goal, but Carolina had the last laugh in the fifth and final international game of the year

The Carolina Panthers recovered a fumble on the first play of overtime, then kicked a field to beat the New York Giants 20-17 Sunday in Munich, Germany.

Buoyed by beer and John Denver’s “Country Roads,” the crowd in Germany seemed content with the game. But it was a tough watch from the football side — a sluggish matchup between two 2-7 teams who struggled to move the ball downfield.

It was a relatively slow first half, but the Panthers struck first, with quarterback Bryce Young throwing to tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders for a touchdown in the first quarter. Carolina added a field goal to start the second quarter. On the very next drive, Giants kicker Graham Gano missed a 43-yard field goal that would have made it a one-score game.

The Giants finally got a real chance to score, getting into the red zone late in the second half, but Daniel Jones threw a costly pick that bounced off the helmet of linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.

New York came out a bit stronger after halftime, scoring a touchdown on the first play of the second half to cut the deficit down to three. Carolina quickly responded, moving the ball 80 yards down the field for another touchdown.

The Giants opened the final frame with another touchdown, with Jones running 2 yards into the end zone for the score. New York’s good luck continued, recovering a Carolina fumble to get the ball back with eight minutes remaining in the game; however, the hot streak quickly evaporated as Jones threw another interception, picked off by Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell. Despite getting the ball back, Carolina was forced to punt after three ineffective downs.

With 10 seconds left, Gano redeemed himself, making a field goal to tie things up at 17 and send the game to overtime.

Overtime got off to a tough start for New York, with Carolina forcing a fumble and recovering the ball on the Giants' first play of the extra session. All Carolina needed was a field goal, and the Panthers got it, with Eddy Pineiro nailing a 36-yard kick and ending the game. The Panthers won, 20-17 and move to 3-7 on the season.

The NFL plans to return to Germany next year, along with several other countries. For the Germans’ sake, hopefully the league will send a better matchup.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER33 updates
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