The Panthers began their season at New Meadowlands Stadium for an NFC duel with the New York Giants. In the first quarter, Carolina got the stadium's very first points with kicker John Kasay nailing a 21-yard field goal. The Giants would answer with quarterback Eli Manning making a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. In the second quarter, the Panthers slowly retook the lead with Kasay hitting a 52 and a 43-yard field goal. The Giants responded with Manning getting a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nicks, but the Panthers replied with quarterback Matt Moore making a 19-yard TD pass to wide receiver Steve Smith. In the third quarter, the Panthers fell behind when kicker Lawrence Tynes made a 32-yard field goal, which was extended further with Manning making a 5-yard TD pass to Nicks, followed in the 4th quarter by running back Ahmad Bradshaw getting a 4-yard touchdown run. After this point, the Panthers tried to score when rookie defensive end Greg Hardy blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety, but the Giants defense prevented anything else happening.. How many yards was the longest field goal of the first half?