EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The early portion of the 2022 NFL season has been positive for the Giants both collectively and individually.
They are 2-0 with victories against Tennessee and Carolina. And after each of those games, one of their players has been honored by the NFL.
Kicker Graham Gano today was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his four-field goal performance in the 19-16 triumph vs. the Panthers on Sunday. Last Wednesday, Saquon Barkley was cited as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week after amassing 194 scrimmage yards, a touchdown and the game-deciding two-point conversion in a 21-20 victory against the Titans.
Gano, a 13-year veteran, scored 13 of the Giants' 19 points against Carolina, adding an extra point to his field goals.
He started his day with 36 and 33-yard three-pointers in the first quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, his 51-yard field goal broke a 13-13 tie. After the Panthers' Eddy Pineiro again knotted the score with a 35-yard kick, Gano put the Giants ahead for good with 3:34 remaining when he blasted a 56-yard field goal.
The game-deciding kick is tied for the second-longest field goal in Giants history. Aldrick Rosas booted a franchise-record 57-yarder vs. Chicago on Dec. 2, 2018. Gano's kick tied Ali Haji-Sheikh's 56-yard field goals against Green Bay on Sept. 26, 1983, and at Detroit on Nov. 7, 1983.
Sunday was the second game in which Gano kicked two 50+-yard field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime. He is the only kicker in Giants history to accomplish that feat. He first did it in Washington on Sept. 16, 2021, when he kicked 52 and 55-yarders – plus a 35-yarder – in the fourth quarter.
In his 35 games with the Giants, Gano has kicked 14 field goals of at least 50 yards, outdistancing the former record of nine, set by Joe Danelo from 1976-82.
Sunday's game was the fifth in which a Giants kicker had two 50+-yard field goals. Gano has four of them. The only other kicker to do it was Raul Allegre, who kicked 53 and 52-yarders at Philadelphia on Nov. 15, 1987.
The current Player of the Week award is the fifth of Gano's career and this third in three seasons with the Giants.
He was honored in Week 7 of 2021 after making all three of his field goal attempts, from 49, 53 and 44 yards, in his first game vs. Carolina since leaving the Panthers, for whom he played from 2012-18 (he did not play in 2019).
Gano also won the award in Week 9 of the 2020 season when, in a 23-20 victory in Washington, he kicked field goals of 38, 48 and 42 yards, plus two extra points.
He received the honor for breaking the Giants' hearts in 2018 (Week 5) when, as a member of the Panthers, he kicked four field goals, including a 63-yarder with one second remaining to give Carolina a 33-31 victory. It was the longest field goal ever kicked against the Giants.
Gano was first named Player of the Week in Week 10 of 2010, playing for Washington at Jacksonville.
He was also the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in November 2015 and October 2018.
The Giants last received Player of the Week awards after consecutive games in Weeks 14 and 15 of the 2016 season, when punter Brad Wing earned the special teams honor.
View photos from the Giants' Week 2 game vs. the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium.
Carolina Panthers' Jeremy Chinn, left, tries unsuccessfully to stop New York Giants' Daniel Bellinger from scoring a touchdown during the second half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones looks to throw during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) calls a play during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Kadarius Toney, right, runs with the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Tanner Hudson, right, runs with the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) kicks a field goal during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones runs with the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones runs with the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' David Sills V runs with the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones runs with the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' David Sills V, right, fends off Carolina Panthers' Xavier Woods during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Carolina Panthers' Chuba Hubbard, right, fumbles the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Saquon Barkley, left, runs the ball during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, top right, calls a play during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Adoree' Jackson (22), top, breaks up a pass intended for Carolina Panthers' DJ Moore (2) during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones throws during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Julian Love, right, tries to tackle Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones throws during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Julian Love, right, tries to tackle Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, left, tries to break tackles during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Julian Love, left, tackles Carolina Panthers' Christian McCaffrey during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Leonard Williams (99) reacts during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Dane Belton, right, tackles Carolina Panthers' Ian Thomas during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones looks to throw during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Giants' Darnay Holmes during the first half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones throws during the first half an NFL football game Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Kadarius Toney, right, tries to avoid a tackle by Carolina Panthers' Myles Hartsfield during the first half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Daniel Bellinger, right, celebrates his touchdown with Richie James during the second half an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Daniel Bellinger during the second half an NFL football game Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
Carolina Panthers' Jeremy Chinn, top, tries unsuccessfully to stop New York Giants' Daniel Bellinger from scoring a touchdown during the second half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/John Munson)
New York Giants' Daniel Bellinger, bottom, scores a touchdown past Carolina Panthers' Jeremy Chinn during the second half an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
