Together, they accounted for three of Atlanta’s four turnovers. While Jones did catch a number of passes, Norman did an excellent job of not allowing a run after the catch, minus the one long catch.
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With 435 yards and 29 first downs, Green Bay got better production out of its inconsistent offense with coach Mike McCarthy assuming play-calling duties again.
The Saints played hard and gave great effort versus the undefeated Panthers, but in the first half they just could not score enough points to separate from Carolina and in the second half, they could barely get a pass rush on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
“They came out on fire”, linebacker O’Brien Schofield said. When you’ve got a team like that that’s peaking, you really don’t look for anybody to make plays, you start making plays.
Houston’s star defensive end J.J. Watt has a broken hand but will play in the game. “They out-executed us in many different facets, and there’s not much more to say about that”.
Bolstering his Most Valuable Player credentials, Newton completed 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards before he was replaced by backup Derek Anderson late in the third quarter with the Panthers up 38-0.
Newton is probably having one of the best stretches of his career as a passer and dating back to Week 9 he has completed 65 percent of his passes, averaged 257 passing yards, thrown 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. The Panthers were able to stay undefeated with a 38-0 win. Then the Panthers come to Atlanta on December 27.
There were some scary moments for Carolina on the injury front. But they have to look for ways to keep starters healthy, as they did Sunday when Greg Olsen (knee) and Jonathan Stewart (foot) sat out the second half. But Rivera said both players could have returned and were held out because the team had a big lead. Starting cornerback Bene Benwikere had to be carted off the field in the 4th quarter.
The Panthers jumped on the Falcons early, scoring on touchdown drives of 80, 93 and 80 yards on their first three possessions.
However, with three games left on their schedule, the Falcons now find themselves in need of at least another victory if they hope to work their way back into the playoff conversations. Atlanta WR Julio Jones, who entered the week with an NFL-high 102 receptions this season, made seven catches for 88 yards….
BALTIMORE – Russell Wilson threw for 292 yards and five touchdowns and the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Baltimore Ravens 35-6 on Sunday to continue their march in the closing National Football League fixtures.
Check back later for Don Banks’s Snap Judgments from the scene in Charlotte. The rout was on.
The Atlanta, who finished with 230 total yards, have now dropped its last six games and is now 6-7 overall on the season.
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“When people think about quarterbacks, that’s probably the only position in all of sports that has that default, ‘You’re a leader, ‘ whether you want it or not”, said Newton in an interview with the Charlotte Observer prior to the start of the 2015 season. Carolina hasn’t lost a regular season game in over a calendar, so will the Atlanta Falcons’ play spoiler in this contest despite being in the midst of a five-game losing streak?
