Even without Cam Newton, who was out with a concussion, the Panthers should have won.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. The Super Bowl is beginning to seem like a distant memory for the Carolina Panthers. Tampa Bay put points on the board first with a field goal on the first drive. Tampa Bay took on Carolina on Monday night, with the loser facing a three-game deficit in the NFC South race; in the Bucs’ case, they would have also had two weeks to stew in that knowledge. ‘That guy doesn’t know what I’m thinking or anything about my team.’ He gets paid to talk on TV. With 101 yards, he became just the second opposing rusher to hit the century mark in the Panthers’ past 28 games (Rashad Jennings, NYG, 107 on 12/20/15).
TURNOVER-PRONE PANTHERS: One of the big reasons the Panthers are 1-4 this season: turnovers. The turnovers were what ate at Rivera after the game – but the lack of turnovers by the Bucs only made that worse.
“He’s antsy”, coach Ron Rivera said Saturday.
The push to make things happen for a team off to a surprisingly slow start showed up right off the bat when the Buccaneers’ banged-up running game set the tone for the game.
“We have the Saints coming up pretty soon”.
Martin, who has not played since sustaining a hamstring injury at Arizona in Week 2, has a good chance to return against the 49ers.
The defending NFC champions are in danger of missing the playoffs after Monday night’s 17-14 loss to the Buccaneers dropped them to 1-4.
Previous year at nearly this time, I wrote that the Seattle Seahawks would still make the playoffs, after they fell to 2-4 after yet another disastrous collapse. Since 1990, only eight teams have made the postseason after starting 1-4. “Thomas wanted to be in there for every snap”, Rivera said. “There is nothing we can do about it”. “So I felt like we should go conservative”.
In spite of the fact that some people want to go ahead and give the division to somebody already with 11 games left to play, Rivera said Tuesday.
The Panthers entered their showdown with the Buccaneers needing a win to stay within two games of the division-leading Atlanta Falcons who delivered an impressive 23-16 road victory over the previously undefeated Denver Broncos on Sunday.
B Receivers: Tight end Greg Olsen caught eight passes for 181 yards, tied for the fourth-highest, single-game receiving total in franchise history. “You would like for them to have called holding on their left guard for grabbing Kony and turning him when Kony had a chance to make a tackle for a 2-yard loss. A wise coach told me one time, ‘feed the stud.’ When a guy is hot, you give him the ball”. Newton has thrown just six touchdown passes, with two rushing touchdowns, this season with five interceptions and a lost fumble.
“When we’re out there at the end of the game, we’ve got to get a stop and that’s what it comes down to”, Kuechly said.
“It’s not what we expected but that’s how the National Football League works and you have to rebound”, Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly told reporters on Monday. “To go into a bye week with this win will hopefully help us turn our season around”.
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“We’ll have a good practice on Wednesday”.
