Newton gamely drove the Panthers to the Broncos 18, but his third-down pass for Devin Funchess was knocked down by cornerback Aqib Talib, leading to Gano’s 36-yard field goal with 4:21 remaining to pull Carolina to within a point.
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“Early in the game, a guy took two, three steps and hit him in the head and they didn’t call a penalty”, Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis said.
The Carolina Panthers may be last year’s conference champions, but yesterday’s performance against the Super Bowl-winning Denver Broncos may give those who think they’re shoe-ins to win the NFC South some pause. The Panthers will prove to be a better team than Denver in the long run, but it was a very tough way start the new season.
Nobody could attest to that better than Cam Newton.
Newton put the Panthers on the cusp of victory with a 21-yard pass to Kelvin Benjamin at the Denver 32-yard line in the closing seconds, and another short pass to Ted Ginn Jr. put Gano well within his range.
Melded in all that excitement was another incredible performance by Newton, a night of ugly stats but quiet promise from Broncos novice and starting quarterback Trevor Siemian, and another reminder that John Elway might be as good in the front office as he was the huddle.
But the star of the game was Broncos running back C.J. Anderson, who scored twice while running for 92 yards on 20 carries and catching four passes for 47 yards. “We didn’t lose the game on that I know that for a fact”.
In three games against Denver, Newton has been pressured 52 times.
He remained in the trainer’s room for almost an hour after the game had ended after being sacked three times, and hit eight more, not counting the punishment he received on his 11 rushing attempts.
Two of the most vicious hits had a direct impact on the game.
The Broncos collected three sacks and hit Newton eight more times, not counting the abuse he took on his 11 runs.
The Carolina kicker’s 50-yard effort went wide left, and the Denver Broncos hung on to beat the Panthers 21-20 Thursday night.
The media wanted to know Newton’s thoughts on the officiating after only one roughing the passer penalty was called.
“We just went back into the lockerroom said we were making too many mistakes”, said linebacker DeMarcus Ware. “Key players in crunch time rarely ever get removed for an evaluation, probably because the ATC spotter doesn’t want to be blamed for creating a competitive disadvantage if, for example, Cam Newton had been unavailable to the Panthers for the final drive if, as it turns out, Newton didn’t have a concussion”.
Newton, the NFL’s reigning MVP, was 18 of 33 for 194 yards, with one TD and one interception.Just as he did over and over in the Super Bowl, Miller made a big play late, sweeping past right tackle Mike Remmers and sacking Newton.
Graham Gano’s field goal attempt for Carolina sailed wide, allowing Denver to hold on for the win. For starters, Newton’s runs added up, as did the hits he took in the pocket. “I’m going to wait until I see the tape”.
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First, Denver defenders repeatedly targeted Newton’s head, including some textbook helmet-to-helmet hits that were not penalized. Newton ran for 15 yards on the drive and completed 6 of 9 passes for 56 yards before he carried it the final two yards for his 44 career touchdown, breaking Hall of Famer Steve Young’s National Football League records for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. “It’s quite an honor to play on a Thursday night to open the year”. “With two minutes left, man, and that rush get on him, you could tell then”.
