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| IND at JAX | MIA at KC | NO at DET | NYJ at SEA | PHI at WAS | PIT at TEN | SD at TB | SF at STL |
Week 16 Game Recap: Carolina Panthers 28, New York Giants 34
What you need to know
| Carolina Panthers |
In a game that determined which team would receive home field advantage in the NFC playoffs, Jake Delhomme finished the game 11 of 19 for 185 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Facing a New York Giants run defense that came into the contest allowing opponents to rush for just over 90 yards per game, the Carolina Panthers were able to amass 158 yards on the ground. DeAngelo Williams was a scoring machine and finished with over 100 yards and four touchdowns. The scores marked the ninth consecutive game that Williams scored a touchdown.
Carolina wide receivers combined to catch 11 passes that went for 185 yards. Leading the way was Muhsin Muhammad who turned his six targets into four catches that went for 80 yards. Steve Smith was fairly quiet with only four receptions for 37 yards.
| New York Giants |
In what turned out to be a battle of the running backs, the Giants were able to pull out a victory in overtime. Though listed as questionable heading into the game because of a knee injury, Brandon Jacobs got the start at running back for the Giants and helped jump start an offense that struggled in Week 15. The duo of Derrick Ward and Jacobs helped seal the victory. Ward broke off a number of long runs and finished the game with over 200 yards rushing. And Jacobs' three touchdowns, his third in overtime were crucial to the win.
Like Delhomme, Eli Manning did not have a spectacular game. He finished with 17 completions out of 27 attempts for 181 yards. He did complete a touchdown pass to TE Kevin Boss in the third quarter.
What you ought to know
| QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 11 - 19 - 185 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Delhomme had a fairly quiet game; he did not turn over the ball. Throughout the game he looked long to his receivers, and he found Muhsin Muhammad for 60 yards.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 24 - 108 - 4 (1 targets) |
Williams got going early as he picked up 19 yards on four rushes on the team's first series and he capped the drive with a 13 yard touchdown right through the middle of the New York defense. On a second quarter run, Williams started to his right, came all the way back to his left, and was able to pick up a big gain of 16 yards. He scored his second rushing touchdowns of the game on a five yard run that put the Panthers up 14--10. His third touchdown of the first half was a one yard plunge that came with 4:45 left in the second quarter.
| RB Jonathan Stewart, Rush: 9 - 29 - 0, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (3 targets) |
Stewart got his first carry on the Panthers' second drive. He stayed down on the field after a second quarter run, but he was able to walk off under his own power. It was later reported that he suffered a head injury and that his return was questionable. Stewart did return to action in the third quarter. He received two receiving targets and gained 15 yards on a third down play that went for a third down.
| WR Steve Smith, Rush: 2 - 21 - 0, Rec: 3 - 47 - 0 (6 targets) |
Smith's first touch came on a third down, backward pass for a gain of 23 yards and a first down. His first catch came on a deep pass and he took the ball down to the New York 11 yard line. On his second catch, Smith hauled in a pass near the side line that brought the ball down to the New York three yard line. He received a second back ward pass in the second quarter that he took for a two yard gain down inside the Giants' one yard line. His third backward catch went for a loss of two yards.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 4 - 80 - 0 (7 targets) |
Muhammad took a 60 yard pass and catch down to the New York four yard line. On the very next play he caught a pass for a gain of one yard. His fifth target came near the end of the third quarter and went for a first down.
| TE Jeff King, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
His only catch went for a ten yard gain and a first down as he took the ball down to the Giants' 37 yard line.
| PK John Kasay 0 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Kasay missed his lone field goal attempt, it was a 50 yard attempt. He did convert four extra points.
| CAR Rush Defense |
The Carolina run defense gave up an astounding 306 yards on 41 attempts. They did give up three rushing touchdowns to Brandon Jacobs, the final in overtime.
| CAR Pass Defense |
Eli Manning finished the game completing 17 passes for 27 yards and one touchdown. The team also recorded three sacks.
| QB Eli Manning, Pass: 17 - 27 - 181 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
On the team's first drive, he escaped the pass rush moved to his right and hit WR Domenik Hixon for a 40 yard gain. He threw a touchdown pass to Kevin Boss in the third quarter and a two point conversion attempt to Domenik Hixon in the fourth quarter.
| RB Brandon Jacobs, Rush: 24 - 87 - 3, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jacobs was busy on the team's first two drives as he received 11 carries that he took for 40 yards and a two yard touchdown. He took a third quarter run down to the Carolina two yard line. Had a rush from the two yard line, but Jacobs lost two yards on the play. His touchdown rush in overtime sealed the Giants' victory. Jacobs also made once reception for five yards.
| RB Derrick Ward, Rush: 15 - 215 - 0, Rec: 1 - -5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Ward rushed for an amazing 215 yards. He had a number of long rushes, his longest of 51 yards in overtime set up the Brandon Jacobs touchdown. He dropped his first pass on a third down play. His second target went for a catch for a loss of six yards. His first carry came on a third and three play where he gained nine yards.
| RB Madison Hedgecock, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
Hedgecock received a carry on a third and one play, but he was stopped for a no gain. He also took a catch for a first down and down to the Panthers' eight yard line.
| WR Domenik Hixon, Rec: 4 - 71 - 0 (10 targets) |
Hixon was the most targeted Giants' receiver. He caught a pass on the team's first play from scrimmage that went for nine yards. He hauled in his second target that went for a gain of 40 and took the ball down to the Carolina 18 yard line. Third target fell to the ground incomplete. His fifth target went for a pickup of ten yards and a first down.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (3 targets) |
Smith's first grab came on the team's second series and went for a gain of 10 and a first down. His second catch also came on the second drive and went for another first down. His third pass also came on the second drive and went for a first down.
| WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (4 targets) |
Toomer's first target came in the second quarter with just over eight minutes remaining. His first catch came in the third quarter and went for a first down.
| TE Kevin Boss, Rec: 5 - 46 - 1 (6 targets) |
Boss's first catch came near the end of the second quarter and went for a first down. He caught a four yard touchdown pass in the third quarter that brought giants within one point.
| PK John Carney 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Carney made his first field goal attempt from 32 yards out and then later was good from 35 yards. He also made all of his point after attempts.
| NYG Rush Defense |
The New York rush defense gave up 148 yards on 35 carries. They were unable to keep DeAngelo Williams out of the end zone and gave up four touchdowns.
| NYG Pass Defense |
The New York pass defense held Jake Delhomme to 11 receptions for 185 yards. They did not record any sacks.
