After missing significant playing time with a foot injury late in the regular season, the Panthers running back returned for the Divisional Round game against Seattle with 19 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Carolina’s 31-24 win – the first to break 100 yards against the Seahawks in 27 games.
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There was no signature “Beast Mode” run, but don’t bother telling the Carolina Panthers that Lynch wasn’t his normal self.
Cam Newton is changing that perception in his fifth season.
“The playoffs bring out more than any other time the impact of ‘Big Mo, ‘” Newton said after top-seeded Carolina moved into the NFC title game, which it will host next Sunday against second-seeded Arizona.
The Carolina Panthers are one game away from advancing to Super Bowl 50, but don’t tell that to Cam Newton. “You can not give up touchdowns when you play against teams like that”.
“We made a mess of it in the first half”, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “I don’t know how much more you can expect of him”.
The growth of Carolina’s offense has been a slow, steady journey.
The Panthers actually beat Arizona in the playoffs last season, although the Cardinals were without their starting quarterback.
While the Panthers managed to win close games, the Seahawks gave up fourth-quarter leads in four of the first six weeks of the season.
Rivera and his staff extensively studied the things Newton did well at Auburn, where he led the Tigers to a national championship in his only season and won the Heisman Trophy. “He worked hard to get back and made it back to play”.
20 DEC 2015: Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) during the second quarter of the game between the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Why linebacker Thomas Davis is on the “hands” team and the Panthers’ quarterback isn’t. “It’s no different with him. Everyone in here just feels like we ran out of time”.
Newton said the Panthers don’t get nervous.
Palmer’s got his own redemption arc in the works after the crushing knee injury and eventual parting with the Cincinnati Bengals, the odd stop in Oakland and now, finally, after all these years, securing a playoff win.
Stewart then opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run only one minute and thirty seconds into the game.
“We’re nearly out of everything so next week, we’re definitely going to have to order more”, Manager Joe Arocho said.
Now they’ll host the NFC championship game for the first time in franchise history. Newton’s been the MVP all year, but he hasn’t encountered a team quite as deep or explosive as these Cardinals.
“Most certainly”, Cotchery said.
The running game was expected to suffer this year with the loss of DeAngelo Williams, but Jonathan Stewart has impressed and shocked a lot of people.
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“He is ready for these moments”.
