CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Saquon Barkley crossed the goal line for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter on Sunday in Carolina, the Giants appeared headed toward their second victory of the season.
Instead, Cam Newton led the Panthers far enough downfield in the final 68 seconds to allow Graham Gano to kick a game-winning, 63-yard field goal, tied for the longest game-winning kick in NFL history.
The Giants were dealt a heartbreaking defeat to drop them to 1-4, which will be a tough pill to swallow heading into a short week as they prepare to play the Eagles on Thursday. Just one of their four losses this season has come by double-digits.
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Coach Pat Shumur knows his team as well as anyone and is optimistic the Giants will be able to move on fast and set their sights on finding the elusive win No. 2.
"We played the way that I know that our team is, so for the record, our team is tough, they play hard and I’ve got no issues with the way they play," he said. "Again, we've still got some things we’ve got to clean up and play better, but we’ll get that fixed as we go. We’ll deal with the disappointment quickly and then we’ll get right back to work."
Adding drama to New York's tough start this season, prior to Sunday's game, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made comments (via ESPN) that suggested he had a riff with the team. Shurmur claimed the issue was addressed in the locker room.
"I publicly declared that I didn’t agree with his comments, and I asked anybody that was interested if they wanted clarification (to) go to Odell because he’s a big man,” the coach said.
Beckham, who said he does not regret anything he said in the interview, claimed the team has moved on, even saying he saw the loss Sunday as a step in the right direction.
"I haven’t felt any more closer than I have in the last 24 hours, and like I said, if it took that to bring us together, I can take that," Beckham said. “I can carry that and I’m proud of what we showed today. I’m proud of everything we showed today, I’m just happy for that."
The Giants' lone win this season came on the road against the Texans, a game in which quarterback Eli Manning posted a season-high 132.3 passer rating.
As a veteran, Manning knows he has to have a short memory during tough times like these. He remains encouraged about the close games the Giants have played.
"We will have a short week playing Philly and our mindset will be on that,” Manning said. "We will have to try to bounce back from this quickly, but to build off the fight that this team has. Every game that we have played we have been right there at the end, we have had a chance to win every single one and we just have to find a way to come together as a team."
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Barkley, who scored both of his touchdowns through the air Sunday, isn't hanging his head. He shared a similar sentiment as that of Manning, and he remains encouraged that good things are on the horizon for the NFC East cellar-dwellers.
“We found a way (to win) just one time,” he said. “At the same time, this team played its heart out. We played our butt off — fought from start to finish. We have to find a way to finish games. That is the moral of the season; moral of the story so far.
"I still believe we can figure it out."