NFL: Giants rout the Panthers

Barden had 123 yards on seven carries at halftime.

Before Thursday night, the fourth-year receiver had never managed more than nine catches for 94 yards receiving in a season.

"At this level, you never know when you're going to get an opportunity, you've got to be prepared for it," Manning said. "Andre Brown is a great example. He's a guy we drafted, he bounced around, and we brought him back. He was on the bubble to make the team, and here you go. Ahmad (Bradshaw) gets hurt, and he ran great, he pass-protected.

"He did get off to a bit of a shaky start. He went left when he was supposed to run right on the first play. We had a little talk and got him settled down, and after that, he did very, very well."

Any hopes that the Panthers would turn things around in the second half were slowed when rookie returner Adams fumbled trying to catch the opening kickoff, resulting in another field goal for Lawrence Tynes.

Tynes finished with five field goals on the night.

The Panthers didn't get on the board until midway through the third quarter when Newton leaped over the pile from a yard out.

Newton said it wasn't what the Giants did but what the Panthers didn't do.

"Who wants to supports something that puts on a performance of embarrassment out there, and that's what that was," Newton said. "If I was a fan of the Carolina Panthers I would be holding my head down in shame at the product that was out there."

Newton said the Panthers problem was execution, not anything the Giants did to stop them.

"We have to fix it," Newton said.

NOTES: For the third straight week Carolina receiver Steve Smith sparred with an opposing cornerback during the game. This week's victim was Corey Webster. ... Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart missed his second game of the season because of a toe injury. The Panthers also were without tackle Byron Bell. ... The Panthers honored Olympic gold medal swimmers Cullen Jones and Ricky Berens.