MUNICH, Germany — Nothing about the setting was normal. The building was all in red, not Bank of America Stadium blue. They speak a different language here. The food, while still very pork-centric, is even heavier than what they're used to. They don't have T-shirt cannons; they blast tortilla chips into the crowd. The crowd keeps singing, even when the music stops.

Of course, there's still beer, Petey Pablo, and "Stand and Cheer for the Panthers," but otherwise, this was a unique football experience for the home team.

Mostly, that's because the Panthers played something resembling the way they envisioned when they put this team together this offseason, even if they had to go to Germany to do it, and rely on a break or two to get a 20-17 win over the Giants on another continent.

Eddy Piñeiro's 36-yard field goal in overtime won it, after A'Shawn Robinson forced a Giants fumble to put them in position.

What it lacked in style points, it made up for in emotion, and theme.

They ran well, with the newly rich Chuba Hubbard continuing to work like he was broke. Bryce Young was smart passing the ball, avoided pressure well, and even scrambled for 24 yards. Three of the linebackers acquired in free agency made impact plays, and one of their defensive linemen made the biggest of the game.

Of course, beating the Giants 20-17 in overtime at Allianz Arena just moved the Panthers to 3-7, but the way they played was unlike a lot of what we've seen this season, and since it comes after beating the Saints last week, it counts as a winning streak.

Also, a degree of progress.

There were nervous moments, of course, as the Giants cut it to a field goal margin midway through the fourth quarter when native-Charlottean and Giants quarterback Daniel Jones ran for a touchdown. And then Hubbard went down awkwardly, losing the ball, creating two layers of anxiety for the Panthers since it gave the Giants incredible field position.

But linebacker Josey Jewell stripped the ball away from running back Tyrone Tracy in the red zone, killing their chance to tie the game or take the lead.

Hubbard had limped off the field but returned for the next offensive play and was there to help close one out. But of course, it wasn't simple, as that.

He finished with 28 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown.

Young had another sharp game, completing 15-of-25 for 126 yards, and hit rookie tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders for his first career touchdown.

And while run defense figures to be a problem all year in the absence of Derrick Brown and Shaq Thompson, there were moments when the defense stepped up Sunday, despite allowing the Giants to push it to overtime.

D.J. Wonnum had a sack in his first game of the season after complications from surgery delayed his return. He dropped Jones on a third down flea flicker attempt.

And Jadeveon Clowney was impactful on the other side, heading a Jones pass into the air, where it was intercepted by Xavier Woods late in the second quarter.

And then Jewell made a couple of plays, both the unconventional pick and falling on the overtime fumble, which was forced by the veteran Robinson.

It was a long trip, but worth it, with the result.

— A pair of injuries in the first half tested their depth on offense.

Running back Miles Sanders went down on his second carry of the game and did not return because of a foot/ankle injury.

He was carted off the field immediately.

That left Raheem Blackshear as the only backup to Hubbard since rookie Brooks was inactive. Blackshear hadn't carried the ball all season, and Sanders only had 36 attempts in the first nine games.

Veteran tight end Ian Thomas also left in the first half with a calf problem, limping slowly to the sidelines. He was on injured reserve earlier this year with a calf injury suffered in training camp.

That left them short there, since Tommy Tremble was inactive with a back issue that had him questionable on last week's injury report.

Also, outside linebacker DJ Johnson also left the game with a concussion in the second half.