Stewart carried twice in overtime for seven yards before a third-down incompletion forced a punt.

When asked about the decision to go with Stewart, coach John Fox replied, "We try to spread the wealth a little bit there, at the running back position. It hasn't been problematic thus far and we didn't think it was problematic last night. At the end of the day it was a heck of a game, and hard-fought, and we just came up a little short."

--It's hard to be disappointed when you run for more than 150 yards and four touchdowns, but offensive tackle Jordan Gross said the Panthers could have done a better job on Sunday in the second half against the Giants.

"I think we did OK on the ground," Gross said. "It's tough throwing the ball when you have that wind. That's what (the Giants) offense did too, they ran the ball a lot. We have a lot of good depth on the O-line. I thought the backs did a good job. I have a feeling we might see these guys again. We get in the playoffs and make a little run. We'll have some good tape to look at."

As for the second half, Gross said, "They knew we would be committed to running it, we had the lead and that's what our formula is. I would need to see tape for sure, but it seemed like they were really downhill, their 'backers especially, and committed to stopping it. We need to be a little more effective with that when they're bringing eight down. We still need to be able to keep that run game going to keep those leads and eat up the clock."

--Geoff Hangartner started for the Panthers Sunday night, but Jeremy Bridges also saw some action at right guard.

That was by design, not due to an injury.

"I think we feel good about both guys, and I thought they both did well," Fox said. "I think offensively we moved the ball a little bit more consistently in the first half than in the second half, but it was well enough to where we had the opportunity to win."

BY THE NUMBERS: 1996 -- Last time the Panthers had a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs. They can get one with a win Sunday.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It was a really good game. This is a heavyweight slug fest. It went back and forth and they happened to get the best of us tonight. That's a good ball club over there and they do a lot of things right and they do a lot of things full speed. They play football the right way, my hat goes off to them." -- DT Damione Lewis on Carolina's 34-28 overtime loss to the New York Giants in a game played for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.