--RB Brandon Jacobs rushed for three touchdowns Sunday, giving him 35 for his career. He moved past Ron Johnson and Frank Gifford and into a tie for fifth with Ottis Anderson on the team's all-time list.

--QB Eli Manning finished the game with 181 yards passing and 3,119 for the season, making him the first QB in team history with four consecutive 3,000-yard seasons. It was also his 70th consecutive start, a team record for QBs, moving him one past Fran Tarkenton (1967-1971).

--ORT Kareem McKenzie would not admit to any pain, but it was obvious from his lack of full movement that the back spasms that took him out of the Dallas game and curtailed his practice sessions last week had not entirely left. Now, with a "meaningless" game Sunday in Minnesota and then a week's rest during the playoffs bye week, he can see to getting healed. "I'd like that," he said.

--MLB Antonio Pierce once again led the team with eight tackles, but he has displayed a disturbing problem with pass coverage. He simply isn't fast enough to stay with the wide receivers, and offensive coordinators are trying to put him in that position. "We all do our jobs, stay in our lanes, fill the gaps, and I'll worry about who I'm supposed to cover," he said.

REPORT CARD VS. PANTHERS

PASSING OFFENSE: B -- Eli Manning returned to the QB role the Giants have designed for him, that of a game manager who doesn't make mistakes and doesn't put the team at risk. It was primarily a running game plan, which is what the Giants want. But when Manning had to excel, he found a way. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 181 yards and threw one TD but no interceptions. He once again spread it around, and for the fifth consecutive week singled out TE Kevin Boss as his chief beneficiary. In doing so, he took advantage of a hard-rushing Panthers' defense. The offensive line blocked more than satisfactorily for Manning even though he did get sacked three times. Two were coverage sacks.

RUSHING OFFENSE: A -- The Giants gained 301 yards on the ground, with RB Derrick Ward contributing 215 in just 15 carries while RB Brandon Jacobs added 87 in 24 carries and three short-yardage TDs. The offensive line was exceptional, with special plaudits going to LG Richie Seubert, whose pulling tactics opened several large holes for both stars. C Shaun O'Hara called blocking signals, as always, but added more pulls than in the past. There is still some question about the quickness of OLT David Diehl, but all in all he played reasonably well. Pro Bowl RG Chris Snee was impressive with his straight-ahead blocking while Seubert concentrated on pulling.

PASS DEFENSE: B-minus -- Panthers' QB Jake Delhomme was hot in the first half and cold in the second, primarily because of changes in deep coverage put in at halftime by coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. CB Corey Webster was outstanding with seven solo tackles, a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and two passes defensed. But the coverage packages overall were needed because the front four didn't get a sack nor even a QB hit. Still, when a Pro Bowl WR like Steve Smith is held to three catches for 47 yards, something must have been working properly. Both safeties, Michael Johnson and James Butler, were guilty of several mistakes but Johnson had five tackles.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus -- As they say, it could have been worse. RB DeAngelo Williams had 24 carries for 108 yards and four TDs. Still, the Panthers netted only 158 yards (rookie Jonathan Stewart had nine carries for 29 yards) and that was more than acceptable for the defense. MLB Antonio Pierce, if you will, is now talking a better game than he is playing, but that's a good thing since he is using his experience, his instincts and his leadership to be in the right places at the right times without being able to stay step-for-step with TEs as he did a year or two ago. He led the team with eight tackles and twice "guessed" on running plays and was in the backfield waiting to cut Williams down.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C -- Kick coverage could have been better, especially when Mark Jones returned five KOs for 113 yards (22.6 per) and constantly gave Carolina good field position. But the defense, especially in the second half, neutralized those advantages. P Jeff Feagles kicked five times for a 40.6 average (37.0 net) while his Pro Bowl partner, K John Carney, added two field goals to run his season streak to 31 out of 33. His two misses were on blocks caused by poor snaps. There were no interceptions. RB Ahmad Bradshaw returned four kickoffs for 88 yards while R.W. McQuarters took back two punts for 10 yards but almost ran into a disaster when he muffed a punt late in the overtime and managed to recover it, that possession leading to the game-winning TD burst by Jacobs.

COACHING: B -- Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo made several crisp adjustments at halftime, but it is debatable whether he would have needed to do that at all with a more concise game plan going in. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride was sharp with his calls, and when he saw the running game was working he stuck with it, unlike previous games. Head coach Tom Coughlin preached "resiliency" all week, and behind closed doors is said to have reminded the team over and over that the Panthers eliminated the Giants from the 2005 playoffs with a 23-0 embarrassment in Giants Stadium.