EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Their 14th win of the season Sunday was far from perfect, but the Carolina Panthers remain unbeaten.

Graham Gano made a game-winning field goal with five seconds left and the Panthers survive a furious rally by the New York Giants for a 38-35 victory on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The Panthers (14-0) wrapped up the top spot in the NFC playoffs and homefield advantage, but after building a 28-points lead in the third quarter, Carolina needed Gano's heroics, a 43-yard field goal. The Panthers went up 35-7 when wide receiver Ted Ginn caught a 14-yard pass for quarterback Cam Newton's fifth TD toss of the day. Then the Giants went on a roll to respond to 28 unanswered points from Carolina with a 28-0 run of their own.

Newton passed for 340 yards and rushed for 100 on eight carries.

Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was flagged for three personal fouls in the game and tested the patience of officials with repeated on-field tantrums. He was not tossed but his actions might've warranted it. Beckham caught a 14-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 35-35, capping a two-minute, 31-second drive.

"It's unfortunate we lost," said Beckham, who refused to mention cornerback Josh Norman's name or speak much about his ill-advised fisticuffs which included a helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman for which Beckham is sure to receive a hefty later this week. "It's what we've been dealing with all season as far as finishing games. It hurts to lose games like that. It's kind of been the way of our season."

When continuously pressed about his actions, Beckham said, "You never want to hurt your team like that."

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin agreed that Beckham, who caught six passes for 76 yards, lost his composure, but like his star receiver, he was tight-lipped about discussing the incident.

"Just goes to show you (that) he lost his composure," he said when told of how any personal fouls Beckham drew.

The Panthers, who racked up seven penalties for 88 yards, also had some issues with their composure. Four of their penalties were for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct.

That didn't sit well with head coach Ron Rivera.

"We lost our composure. We started to get scrappy and there was no reason to do that," he said, adding that he was referring to the team and not just Norman. "Just turn away and walk away; it's a lot easier to do that."

The Giants blocked a Gano field goal try in the fourth quarter and narrowed the Panthers' lead to seven points on scores by tight end Will Tye, who scored on an 8-yard pass from quarterback Eli Manning; a 38-yard touchdown run by running back Rashad Jennings; and an 8-yard touchdown run by Shane Vereen, a score set up when defensive end Kerry Wynn hit and stripped Newton of the ball deep in Giants territory.

As has been the case for the Giants in four of their eight losses this season, they were beaten on the game's final drive, as Newton capped his fine afternoon, driving his team 49 yards on eight plays to set up the game-winning kick by Gano.

"He played very, very well I thought, with the exception of the fumble," Rivera said. "I mean really as far as I'm concerned, that's the only blemish he had all day. He missed a couple of throws which is part of being a quarterback, but the only blemish was on the missed exchange and fumble."

With the win, the Panthers improve their franchise record-setting season record to 14-0. They will close out their 2015 regular-season campaign at Atlanta next week followed by a home date against Tampa Bay.

Ginn left the game with a rib injury in the third quarter and Newton was dinged briefly with a knee injury.

The Giants (6-8) remain mathematically alive for a playoff berth, but with Minnesota and Washington winning on Sunday, New York's playoff hopes are precariously hanging by a thread. They will visit the Vikings next week and close out the 2015 regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles.

NOTES: Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart, who entered Week 15 third in the NFL in rushing with 989 yards, did not play. Stewart left last week's game with a foot injury. … The Panthers' second quarter recovery and conversion of a Rashad Jennings fumble into a touchdown now gives them 124 points scored off opponents' turnovers. The Panthers currently lead the NFL in the turnover margin with a plus-19. … Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul recorded his first sack since returning from a fireworks accident that permanently damaged his right hand. Pierre-Paul's sack was a nine-yard, second quarter loss that set up a 2nd-and-19 with 5:46 left in the second quarter. ...The Panthers are now 18-3 in December games under head coach Ron Rivera, the best winning percentage of active head coaches since 2011, pending the outcome of the Seahawks' Sunday game against Cleveland (Seattle's Pete Carroll is also looking to improve to 18-3 in December games played since 2011).