Graham Gano knew to focus on what might be coming up rather than dwell on the past.
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Panthers coach Ron Rivera’s mantra during the 12-win season in 2013 was for his club to be relevant.
Look, the Panthers are off to their best start in franchise history, so everyone who walked into the stadium wearing black and blue Monday night was already in a convivial mood, primed to celebrate great plays way more heartily than if the team were 0-6. “I’m going to enjoy this for about the next seven hours then let’s get ready for Green Bay”. Thank goodness Shakespearean drama is in play, and we watched what Newton can do. “He got his hand in there”.
Carolina quarterback Cam Newton threw one interception and lost a fumbled snap at the Indianapolis 1-yard line.
The Colts (3-5) wiped out a 17-point deficit in the last 7:04 of regulation as Luck suddenly got untracked, throwing two touchdown passes. The offensive coordinator is under siege and might take the fall for an offense that rates with Jacksonville and Cleveland. “It’s my problem and it’s hurting the team”, Luck said after the game about his turnovers. But two plays later Ginn made a tough catch in traffic on a slant route to set up a field goal to send the game into overtime. Davis also was beaten badly on a deep ball to Ted Ginn on the Panthers’ first possession of overtime, but Ginn inexplicably dropped the ball. Their solid coverage forced a field goal instead of a touchdown, narrowing the score to 10-6.
Carolina’s injured pass rush looked exhausted for a third straight drive, and with Andrew Luck playing the role of the comeback kid, a Colts comeback was on the table. First, on 4th-and-1 from the Indy 14, Cam Newton converted with a two-yard read-option keeper. He was picked off once.
Despite all the ebbs and flows from Monday night it was a Colts post-game locker room left pondering what-ifs, on the doorstep of a win they so desperately needed.
Luck, who was 23-for-47 for 231 yards, two scores and three interceptions, has been a turnover machine this season.
He says, “We’re always concerned with how somebody can bring in something that can disrupt the game”. In the off and on and occasionally monsoon like rain they made the game theirs. Andrew Luck fueled the Colts’ comeback with touchdown passes to Andre Johnson and Coby Fleener before Vinatieri hit a 24-yard kick as regulation expired. It was an eight-play, 86-yard march.
The Stars: Even though he missed an extra point, Gano deserves a lot of clutch credit here for his 3-3 field goals.
Of Luck’s first 16 passes, only five were complete while two were intercepted.
The Panthers were on the verge of scoring late in the third quarter, reaching the Indianapolis 1-yard line. “Yeah, when he gets an opportunity”, Rivera said Tuesday when asked if he wanted to see Smith end his career as a Panther.
The Indianapolis Colts failed to show up until the fourth quarter, again, and fell to the Carolina Panthers on Monday. Battling through heavy rain, poor pass protection, and miscues, Newton kept working, kept executing, and made those big plays. Carolina led 10-6 at the break.
His final errant throw in OT gave unbeaten Carolina (7-0) the ball and allowed them to move in for the game-winning field goal.
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K Adam Vinatieri: As the Colts’ offense has continued to struggle, they have become increasingly reliant on their kicker. The win proved that Carolina is every bit deserving of a 7-0 record and are not a team to take lightly.
