Quarterback Cam Newton threw five short touchdown passes as the Carolina Panthers won their 10th game in a row, smashing the Washington Redskins 44-16 on Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium.
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After two slow games in his return from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two months, Jackson broke out against the Panthers with five catches for 87 yards, 56 of which came on a touchdown reception in the first quarter.
“I kind of messed up in some of the run game and I was dealing with staying focused and what position I was, so I was overthinking it”, said Funchess, whose strength – other than his size – is the ability to play all three receiver spots.
Carolina stretched its regular-season win streak to 14 games, including eight straight at home, and became the 16th team in the Super Bowl era to start 10-0.
Newton became the first Carolina quarterback in franchise history to throw four TD passes in the first half as the Panthers jumped out to a 31-14 lead.
The Indianapolis Colts’ 24-21 victory over Atlanta (6-4) means the Panthers lead the NFC South by four games with six to play.
Wide receiver Andre Roberts’ first-quarter, 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown pulled the Redskins even at 14-14, but the Panthers scored the next 30 points.
“We go into every week feeling very important, feeling like each game is make or break in a way and that starts Week 1 and that goes all the way through”, Cousins said.
The Panthers sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins five times, causing two fumbles.
“We’ve had a tendency here of when we have a couple of bad things happen, they get magnified and some more things happen”, Gruden said. It’s going to be hard, you know, we fighting against teams and the referees. Newton found Funchess for his franchise-tying fifth TD pass of the game to give Carolina a 38-14 lead.
Luke Kuechly isn’t just the MVP of the Panthers, he might be the MVP of the league.
James Jones had six catches for 109 yards and a score and Eddie Lacy rushed for a season-high 100 yards.
Under Ron Rivera, the Carolina Panthers have had a one-day rule after victories, meaning they can celebrate through Monday before turning their attention to the next game.
With 28 seconds left to play, Carolina tried to run out the clock by having punter Brad Nortman hold the ball until he was forced out of the back of the end zone.
In Detroit, quarterback Matthew Stafford ran for a go-ahead five-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter as the Detroit Lions beat the Oakland Raiders 18-13. He did not throw an interception.
He completed 21 of 34 passing attempts for 246 yards without an interception.
That’s going to help win a lot of football games. They beat the Dolphins on Sunday, 24-14.
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Bucs running back Doug Martin rushed for 235 yards – the second-most ever against the Eagles – and set up two of Tampa Bay’s touchdowns with runs of 58 and 84 yards. They’re a team that’s gaining momentum on offense as Newton heats up, Stewart gains traction (239 rushing yards, two touchdowns in November), and the receiving corps. gain familiarity with Newton. The Panthers entered the game by averaging a league-high 13.3 yards per catch, but none of the five touchdown pass plays went for more than 12 yards…. All of which took the shine off Justin Tucker’s winning 47-yard field goal as time expired.
