The Carolina Panthers encountered what they called a “wake-up call” last week during their comeback victory at New Orleans.
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The Steelers (8-5) rumbled with the Bengals during pregame warmups and then led the whole way, sending Cincinnati (10-3) to its first lopsided loss of the season.
The Carolina Panthers are now 13-0 during the 2015 season but why are they so good? The Falcons’ first penalty, for instance, came when linebacker O’Brien Schofield hit Panthers quarterback Cam Newton late after Newton had thrown a pass out of bounds.
Newton – and the fans – had plenty of reason to celebrate.
It’s easy to see why Newton’s infectiousness is so popular in professional football. I don’t need anything to get me going outside of just the love for the game, but I kind of get excited when I play Atlanta…. “That’s what I expect from our club”.
The Carolina Panthers’ quarterback had another impressive day completing 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns (all touchdown passes came in the first half).
Two turnovers in the third quarter set up a 38-yard field goal from Graham Gano and a 16-yard rushing touchdown from Fozzy Whittaker and Carolina were able to rest several starters, with Derek Anderson taking over from Newton late in the third. “Our performance hopefully is not indicative of how we will play against them again”.
However, Rivera offered good news on tight end Greg Olsen and running back Jonathan Stewart, both of whom left with injuries in the first half.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Blake Bortles threw for three touchdowns and ran for a score – all in the second half – and the Jaguars ended the Colts’ 16-game winning streak in the AFC South.
At halftime, the Panthers led 28-0 and had outgained the Falcons in total yards 349 to 96.
However, there were some scary moments for Carolina on the injury front. Cornerback Bene Benwikere broke his left leg within the fourth quarter & is out for the season.
After the Falcons won the coin toss and elected to defer, the Panthers went to work establishing the ground attack.
Ted Ginn pulled down two of Newton’s TDs on throws of 74 and 46 yards.
He also highlighted goals for the remainder of the season: “Don’t ease up on the gas….” Stewart rushed five times for 52 yards on the opening drive, including a 44-yard burst.
A first half trip into the red zone – down to the Panthers 20 – was thwarted by a 26-yard loss on one play.
The Cardinals, who lead the NFC West, are the only other NFC team assured of a playoff berth at this point.
Wilson went 23 for 32 for 292 yards. “… We want to be considered finishers”.
NOTES: Kawann Short broke Kris Jenkins’ record for most sacks (nine) in a single-season by a defensive tackle with two sacks on Ryan, both of which resulted in fumbles, one for a turnover….
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Manziel, banished to the bench two weeks ago for lying to the team about partying, threw for 270 yards on 21-of-31 passing and one touchdown and one interception for Cleveland (3-10) as the 49ers slipped to 4-9. Last week notwithstanding, the Panthers haven’t needed to gear up for many shootouts, thanks to a defense that is third against the run and leads the league in interceptions (19), takeaways (29) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (four).
