Best performance: The Panthers' stitched-together defense shut out Jacksonville in the second half, which turned a 10-5 Jacksonville halftime lead into a 16-10 Panther victory.
Best Cam Newton stat: He didn't pass for 400 yards - only 158 this time - but he also didn't commit any turnovers in a virtual monsoon.
Second-best Cam stat: Somehow, he was never sacked. He eluded pressure numerous times to avoid negative plays.
Worst Cam trend: How many balls did he throw high in the first half? Newton may have actually played a little better when the conditions got worse, because he was really airmailing it early.
Worst sequence: With 17 seconds left in the second quarter, Jacksonville was simply running out the clock in a torrential rain. Then Maurice Jones-Drew burst for a 39-yard run. That allowed Jacksonville to call timeout, run one more play and score on a 36-yard touchdown pass as the first half expired.
Best matchup: On both his touchdown catch and his two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, Panther tight end Greg Olsen got matched up on a linebacker. He won both.
Best sack: Greg Hardy took down Jacksonville rookie Blaine Gabbert in the first quarter to give Carolina a 2-0 lead.
Worst time management: Jacksonville had the ball at the Carolina 36 with 16 seconds left and no timeouts, but the Jaguars didn't snap the ball until five seconds remained. That left Gabbert time to take only one shot for the TD, and his pass was deflected by Panther linebacker Thomas Williams.
Best player in a losing cause: Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 122 yards on 24 carries, caught passes for 45 more and did just about everything except get into the end zone.
Worst hands: The Jaguars fumbled five times (three by Gabbert) in the stormy conditions. Carolina somehow managed never to fumble. The worst drop came from Jacksonville punter Matt Turk, who muffed a good snap and got tackled for a field-position loss of at least 40 yards.
Best handling of a first-ever victory: Coach Ron Rivera was low-key after getting his first win and kept saying "It's about them," referring to the players in the Panther locker room.
Best weird run: Jonathan Stewart's 60-yard run through the rain in which he seemed to flip nearly upside down but never touch his knee to the ground was amazing -- even though it got reversed when Stewart's elbow was determined to have touched the ground.
Best determination: All the fans who stuck around for the fourth-quarter comeback after nearly getting drowned in the second quarter. It was impressive how many came back to their seats on one of the strangest Sunday afternoons the Panthers have ever had.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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42 comments:
Yeah, all the fair weather fans ran for cover in the rain. Pathetic.
still haven't seen a replay that conclusively showed Stewart's elbow hit the turf. But will take the win.
There was definitely a lot of poor calls by the refs (against both teams). The Stewart run showed no evidence that he was down to overrule. You could barely even see because of the rain. Also the PI call on munnerlyn should've been offensive PI because the dude had munnerlyn by the facemask!
@Anonymous 5:33
Were you at today's game? Do you realize how hard it was raining?
I was one of the fans who took cover inside the stadium during the downpour. People were lined up forty deep watching the game on televisions inside the concourse.
I was also one of the fans who returned to their seats to watch the Panthers' thrilling fourth quarter comeback and was glad I did.
Weak performance by Newton that proved the first 2 games with 400 yrs passing was a total fluke. Very lucky win considering Jax was the more talented better team.
Newton proved he is basically a below average inaccurate QB and will never be anything more. Could be the one and only win all season. TEs are the key and his distant passing was poor and astrocious.
7:12 & 7:16 are idiots
I was under cover in Morehead City loving this win ! It's been raining two days at the beach but not any more! Bring on the Bears !
Somebody needs to teach Sherrod Martin how to tackle. He horribly missed tackles on the last two plays of the first half allowing the Jags to score. It's just inexcusable to be a professional and play like that. Watch the replays and you'll see what I mean. And I don't care if he had an interception. My Grandma could have caught that ball. lol That was a gift from Gabbert.
Anonymous 7:12... you want to know why you are an idiot?
Newton was 18 of 34 for 158 yds and a touchdown with NO turnovers and a TD AND a 2-point conversion pass... oh, and he got the win. 32 of 32 teams would gladly take that every game of the season!
Bottom line is that Newton actually played like a rookie today and still managed to do enough to win. It only gets better from here!
In addition, the Stewart run to the 5 yd line at the end of the first half should've stood. There was NO WAY there was enough evidence with that horrible video to call the play down by contact you could barely see well enough to tell players apart! Without that JAX never leads in this game! The NFL needs to suspend that official and the moron who called pass interference on the last drive when the only contact between receiver and defender was clearly the receiver stiff-arming the defender!
Agree the REAL sub-mediocre Newton showed up so fans better get used to him. NFL teams already have his number anyway and closing the gap quickly to render him ineffective.
Any pass longer than 20 yards was a mile too high or uncatachable. Terrible. The REAL Newton is pathetic to say the least. He wont last 4-5 more games as a starter at this horrible pace. Down she goes. As a team the Carolina Panthers generally suck.
Anonymous 8:12
Yeah, right. Cam Newton can't complete a pass of 20 yards or more. He threw for 854 yards combined in his first two starts, including two long touchdown passes to Steve Smith against Arizona and a 62-yard completion to Smith in the fourth quarter against Green Bay that was a thing of beauty. And don't forget the absolute dime Newton threw to Greg Olsen for forty-plus yards in the first half against the Packers.
All you Cam haters are idiots. There are so many things that Cam can improve upon in his game, but you guys are too stupid to know what any of them actually are.
Cam can't complete the long ball. You might as well say that Cam doesn't know how to scramble.
Idiot...
Anonymous your on pathetic can comment like you actually know football when you have no clue. Yes there was alot of crazy calls but they got the win and thats all that matters at the end of the day. As far as Cam he did a great job considering the elements. Yes he didnt throw 400 plus yds but who cares. Yes itz nice but its just stats.
Poor AND astrocious! Somebody got a thesaurus for his birthday. Congrats! Only a spellchecker away from a Pulitzer.
I simnply want to say congratulations! to the real Panthers fans. I like the way you all have stuck together in support of our team. You deserved this win.
So much fun to watch this win! Cam may not have played his best today, but the team is so much better with him than without him!
So 430+ yds in a loss is celebrated. But 158 yds in a win proves Cam's a fluke??? Nice logic!
Did Cam blow some easy passes? You bet. But this is game three of his career. If a53% completion rate is Cam at his worst, I'll take it every year. But I bet he, like any other QB, is ultimately judged on his W-L record. Ask Dan Marino how many records he'd give up for a ring!
No turnovers. Turned some certain sacks into modest gains. Let alone the accountability adjustments defenses must make with Cam at the helm.
Either these Cam-haters are just trying to get a rise out of people or they really are as football-ignorant as they seem.
I've been a fan since day 1 and for the first time since the Super Bowl--I'm proud to be a Carolina Panther fan. Remember, we won with 10 player on the DL. Go Panthers, Pastor Mike
Cam could complete every pass, have 500 yards with 10 touchdowns and would still get criticized for something. Throw for over 400 yards in 2 games, fluke. Wins 1st game with no turnovers in horrible playing conditions, he stinks because he overthrew some passes.
I think it's a little of both with the haters. He will NEVER do enough to please some people (who seem to have questionable motives in not liking him) so forget the haters and let's celebrate this W-I-N!!!! Go Cam and GO PANTHERS!!
I heard a moron behind me at the Green Bay game make a comment about Smith going overboard on normal plays. But if you're a real fan you'd now that he is one of the most competitive players in the game and he does that to hype up the team and offense. Cam would not have thrown for back to back 400 yard games by accident. He completed a variety of passes in both those games. It was a case of nerves today that had him making those bad throws. He's had two great games with no wins and now he comes into this game where everyone expects him to win, the pressure must be immense. Im sure these two haters go through the same kind of pressure when they look up from the cash register at Bi-Lo and see ten people in line. Get a life guys. Go Cam and Go Panthers!!!
The TD that Jax scored to end the half shouldn't have been allowed. The TE right next to the WR that caught the ball around the 5 yd line was already blocking his defender before the WR caught the ball, which is not legal last I checked.....look at the replay.
I want to see Cam posterize Joo-lee-us next week. Cam is faster than him, and Joo-lee-us is such a fairy he can't tackle limp-wristed.
Great time at the game, getting soaked and enjoying it like a little kid with my son. No way that was better on TV.
Cam fell back to earth today and looked human, except when he avoided sacks others can't. He made good reads but still puts too much on the ball. Some of those open recievers needed a softer touch. He will continue to get better.
Baker made some great punts, Armanti didn't fumble any wet balls and the defense came thru in the end.
I just really, really miss Julius Peppers...especially his Obama-size stimulus salary. As a matter of fact, to date, JP has now made three tackles for the season (2 solo, 1 assisted) and has gotten a sack! That's one sack! Wow, glad he continues to play in Chicago EXACTLY the same way he played in Charlotte.
Hey Anon 6:12, this is Anon 5:53. Yes I was at the game, and we stayed in our seats the whole time. So what if we got wet, this is football! Pathetic that the team had to play in front of about 2,000 people because people were afraid of getting wet. Fair weather fans...
Can didn't have a great day but when it mattered most he led the team down the field and scored the go ahead score, which won the game. How can you complain about that?
Yes, one of the league's 2 hottest quarterbacks came back to earth today, proving that he's a total fluke. Yes, that's right, Tom Brady is a total loser!
I love the Cam haters. Nothing better to do than show up on a blog, not leave their real ID, and write total nonsense about a game they obviously know nothing about. But, it does give me something to laugh at. Keep it up D Bags!!!
Anom 10:45
Just because the majority of ticketholders took shelter during the downpour during the second quarter doesn't make them fairweather fans. Very few people at today's game came prepared for the rain. A small percentage brought ponchos, but most would have been soaked to the bone if they had stayed outside.
Nothing pathetic about using common sense.
Be negative if you wish. I prefer to focus on how many people hung around to watch Cam's first fourth-quarter comeback in his young career.
Go Panthers!!!
All I'm saying is that in Green Bay, Chicago, Denver, etc. fans love the bad weather. "Common sense" is why Bank of America Stadium will never have the same atmosphere as those places.
"still haven't seen a replay that conclusively showed Stewart's elbow hit the turf. But will take the win"........couldn't agree more. Refs seemed to rush that call. No whistle on the field meant it was rulled okay so there was no video showing his elbow hit. It's like the replay ref couldn't believe his eyes and felt there was no way humanly possible Stewart stayed up so ruled against it. Pathetic and could have cost us. Horrible replay call, horrible.
We'll take the win and move to Chicago. Gotta believe. A better outing on O and steady D and we can get that win too.
"The TD that Jax scored to end the half shouldn't have been allowed. The TE right next to the WR that caught the ball around the 5 yd line was already blocking his defender before the WR caught the ball, which is not legal last I checked"........'''frankly calling it a block is an injustice. It was more like a hold and tackle. I was livid! We got the W though.
The fans who remained in their seats had the most fun. Sure, we got wet and the field was like playing in a bathtub (did field drainage get left off the building plans), but this is the most fun I've had at a Panthers game in a long time. The win made it even better! Praying for similar rain against New Orleans!
Even before Jacksonville's TD throw, on Jones-Drew's run, Munnerlyn was blatantly held ... the guy had his jersey & wasn't letting go. If that had been called as it should have been, there would not have been a TD. The refs were so poor this game, worse than usual. But we won anyway!! As a team! That's what good teams do! Go Panthers!
One more best...Commentators. What a welcome relief from the F-grade teams we constantly get on Fox!
@ Anonymous 9:34
Panthers coach Ron Rivera was both a player and a coach in Chicago and even he said he had never seen anything like Sunday's monsoon-like downpour. But keep on believing you are a real Panthers fan while constantly putting down fans who were actually at the game. I know some people constantly feel a need to criticize, but taking shots at people for seeking cover during Sunday's second quarter deluge is way off base.
that rain looked like something else...y'all stop bashing the fans!!
Does anyone have a link to a video of rain yesterday at the stadium? My wife is flying in today and I want to show her actual video... Thanks
Has everyone lost sight of the fact that the players and coaching staff have only been working together for two months? So far, I've seen improvement in every game they've played. The day Training camp opened, I figured it would take half the season for everyone to get things sorted out and lean the new system. I also believe that barring a slew of injuries, by Thanksgiving, the team will have hit it's stride and nobody in the league will want to play the Panthers.
Dominique from charlotte.....
Cam is the face of carolina as a rookie. Therefore he's gonna make ROOKIE mistakes because thats what ROOKIES do. Nobody's perfect in the nfl so whats the big deal after 3 games. Look what happened to T.Brady and he suppose to be a veteran, he threw 4 picks that was the toatl of all of last year.
game 1 400+ rookie record=lost
game 2 420+ topped own record=lost
game 3 150+ no int/sack=win
Not bad as a Rookie with little training camp time that was thrown from day 1
I did not record it, but on Jacksonville's touchdown play, was the Jacksonville player blocking one of our defensive backs before the ball was caught?
What a shame for our association... do you have more info.
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