CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Eli Manning didn’t need a big comeback Thursday night, not with Andre Brown running for a career-high 113 yards and two touchdowns in the New York Giants’ 36-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Brown got the start in place of Ahmad Bradshaw, who sat out with a neck injury. Ramses Barden caught nine passes for a career-high 138 yards in his first NFL start, in place of receiver Hakeen Nicks.
Manning completed 27 of 35 passes for 288 yards and 1 touchdown and threw no interceptions.
The defending champion Giants (2-1) dominated the first half, scoring on its first four possessions to take a 20-0 halftime lead and outgaining the Panthers 303 yards to 125.
Cam Newton struggled all night and was pressured into three interceptions. The Panthers (1-2) had five turnovers, including two by rookie returner Joe Adams (Central Arkansas Christian, Arkansas Razorbacks).
With Brown repeatedly bouncing off tacklers and Manning looking sharp after a career-high passing performance last week, the Giants scored on their first four firsthalf drives to silence the Panthers’ crowd and kept humming, despite missing three starters, after last week’s 604-yard output in the come-frombehind 41-34 victory against Tampa Bay.
Brown ran 13 times for 71 yards and a touchdown last week and surpassed last week’s total by the end of the first quarter.
Barden cracked the 100-yard mark for receiving by halftime. Before Thursday night, the fourth-year receiver had never managed more than nine catches for 94 yards receiving in a season.
Lawrence Tynes added four field goals, a 47-yarder to cap the Giants’ second drive and a 49-yarder on the fourth. He added two more field goals in the third quarter, including one after Adams fumbled away the opening kickoff of the second half.
The Panthers, meanwhile, struggled to string together drives. Their first drive stalled near midfield, while another drive that had reached near midfield in the last two minutes of the half ended when Jayron Hosley grabbed a deflected pass from Cam Newton for an interception.
Newton completed only 5 of 12 passes for 90 yards in the first half, though he managed to score on a leaping 1-yard keeper midway through the third quarter for the Panthers’ only points. But Manning responded with a 29-yard pass to tight end Martellus Bennett to start the ensuing 63-yard drive, which ended with Tynes’ 36-yard field goal for the 26-7 lead with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
Sports, Pages 26 on 09/21/2012