EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With one bizarre last-second play, Tommie Hill and Leger Douzable teamed to give the New York Giants a preseason win, make a couple of veteran coaches laugh, and become walking advertisements for that expression that things aren't over until they're over.

Whether it gets them a job with the Giants this season remains to be seen.

Douzable forced a fumble and Hill scored on a stunning 18-yard fumble return as time ran out to lead the Giants to a shocking 24-17 preseason victory over the Carolina Panthers on a Monday night made memorable only for the way it finished.

"I've never seen a game end like that, not that way," Hill said.

The game seemed destined for overtime after Panthers fourth-string quarterback Hunter Cantwell threw a 31-yard scoring pass to Jason Chery and a 2-point conversion pass to Andrew Davie with 57 seconds to play and then New York went three and out, forcing Jeff Feagles to punt.

Carolina got the ball at its own 18 with 10 seconds left, and coach John Fox told Cantwell to see what he could do. The rookie from Louisville went back to pass, and then the unexpected happened.

Douzable rushed past the guard and hit the quarterback's arm. The ball popped in the air, and Hill grabbed it and scurried into the left corner of the end zone as the clock hit zero.

"You figure it was going to overtime but as a defensive player, you always have to be ready to go out and make a play," Douzable said. "I've never seen anything that bizarre.."

So was Hill, who like Douzable is trying to earn a spot on a defensive line that includes defensive ends Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka and tackles Barry Cofield, Fred Robbins, Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard.

"I'm just a rookie trying to make the team," added Hill, who kept the football after scoring for the first time since high school. "Anything like that that helps the team win in turn helps me. It was just a fortunate situation."