Panthers remain perfect, outlast Giants 38-35 in nasty game

The Panthers held off a late rally by the New York Giants to extend their undefeated streak to 14-0. Beckham gave back, too, especially during one sequence when Norman crashed into him and Beckham wrestled Norman to the ground. And practically everyone was furious at Odell Beckham Jr., whose on-the-field MMA undercard with Josh Norman defined a chippy, chaotic, physical and – yes – a little disappointing 38-35 victory for the Carolina Panthers over the New York Giants.

Cam Newton threw for five touchdowns as the Panthers established a 28-point lead, but the Giants battled back to level with 1:46 remaining. Beckham was moved to the slot later on, where he caught a long pass (not against Norman) in a play just before the two-minute warning. On the very first possession for the Giants, Beckham beat Norman downfield but he dropped a perfectly thrown deep ball that most likely would have gone for a touchdown.

“You never want to hurt your team like that and I have learned throughout my life, always second man gets caught”, Beckham said. “You go back and watch the film tomorrow and you learn from it”.

“It’s unfortunate we lost”, said Beckham, who refused to mention cornerback Josh Norman’s name or speak much about his ill-advised fisticuffs which included a helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman for which Beckham is sure to receive a hefty later this week.

“If you play as a team, not as an individual, you can come though with success and we did that today”, Norman said. Just a few days before the release of the long-awaited motion picture, “Concussion”, which details the league’s unwillingness to believe renowned neurologist Dr. Bennet Omalu’s research into the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is caused by repeated head trauma, Beckham delivered a disgusting shot to Norman’s head. On Nov. 15, his lone first-half catch was an 87-yard touchdown.

“It was ridiculous, ” Norman said.

“I wanted him to play the game”, Coughlin said. “The actions of the players involved in unsportsmanlike conduct will be reviewed as per the standard protocol that is followed in all situations of this type throughout the season”. Beckham had lost his composure several times as Norman was getting the best of him in their high-profile matchup. The helmet-to-helmet hit was the topper. It goes to show you, man, that you can understand what kind of player this guy is, what he is. “We’re just trying to find a way to get victories”.

Beckham Jr. did finally find a way to impact the game in a positive way as the Giants mounted a furious comeback. – Giants coach Tom Coughlin. He has thrown for 19 touchdowns in the last five games and a career-best 33 in this special season.

Ted Ginn delivered another multi touchdown performance, and despite a couple of tough drops he looked the part of a number one receiver this week. But he got free for a 40-yard catch and run that led to the tying TD. This is the first time in league history that a player has had 300+ passing yards, 5+ passing touchdowns and 100+ rushing yards, according to Randall Liu. At 8-5, and hosting the risky Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Steelers are contending not only with division leading Cincinnati, but also the red-hot New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs for the final two playoff spots in the AFC.