PHILADELPHIA -- Say what you want about Cam Newton, but he was the best player in the game Monday night.
Newton threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more and never turned the ball over in the Panthers’ 30-22 win over Philadelphia, as Carolina improved to 3-8 this season.
Newton 2.0 seemed a lot like Newton 1.0 Monday night, which was a good thing. The Eagles couldn’t get hold of him on critical third downs. He didn’t make every throw perfectly, but he completed passes of 55 and 43 yards and generally made the right decisions (he threw for 306 yards, with a QB rating of 125.0). He was back to “Superman,” in other words, dominating much of the evening before a national TV audience. Worth noting also: it was Newton's second straight game without a turnover.
-- The Eagles (3-8) were without their top quarterback (Michael Vick), their top running back (LeSean McCoy) and – for almost the entire game – their top wide receiver (DeSean Jackson). And still the Eagles hung in there. Carolina was fortunate to cause and recover three second-half fumbles that helped ensure the victory. And how about a game ball for Gary Barnidge -- the reserve tight end caught a 24-yard TD pass and recovered the Eagles' final fumble on a kickoff.
-- One of the most amazing stats of the season: The Panthers are now 0-for-12 on coin tosses (including an overtime coin toss they also lost). As the visitors, the Panthers get to call the opening toss on Sunday at Kansas City. I think the team should have an online “heads” or “tails” poll of fans on their website, have fans pay a quarter for each vote with all the money going to charity and let the winner be the Panthers’ call on Sunday.
-- The way the Panthers shuffle through placekickers, Graham Gano has to be on somewhat thin ice now after missing an extra point in the fourth quarter that would have iced the game (the Panthers then led by eight points, not nine). His kickoffs were generally good, though. He did make a 23-yard field goal.
-- Although Eagles fans are renowned for their loyalty – and their frequent booing – even that loyalty has some limits. The stands at Lincoln Financial Field probably included at least 10,000 empty seats.
-- Sherrod Martin dropped two potential interceptions on the same series – the Eagles’ first of the first quarter. If Martin makes either of those picks, I think rookie Nick Foles’ confidence would have eroded early. But Martin did cause that key fourth-quarter fumble on special teams.
-- The Eagles actually were offsides on three consecutive plays late in the fourth quarter – on defense. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before.
-- Even in the Philadelphia pressbox, word spread of the Charlotte Bobcats’ astonishing 64-24 halftime deficit to the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s just a score you don’t see very often.
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9 years ago
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The only thing that saved Nakamura from getting released tomorrow was the win, they can't hide that guy. Gano's stay with Panthers will last about six hours after the New Orleans game....don't unpack all those boxes....
Please, please, please give Cam an offensive line to work with next year. He doesn't need a solid running game or top line receivers, just give him 3-5 seconds and Cam will pick opponents apart for the next ten years. That is what I want for xmas.
Great game. Still want RR out. Better draft some Oline help early in the draft. Hire Gruden.
How can you say Gano is on thin ice? He fell through the ice last night and try to take the team with him.
He should be gone first thing this morning.
It was a stupid move to release Medlock (kicking field goals with 70% accuracy) to sign a never been player who has a 70% accuracy.
This new GM is just as bad as Hurney.
Rivera and the whole lot need to go. They only reason why they didn't give the game away last night is that they found a more pathetic team who kept insisting... "please, after you, this is a game we don't want to win either"
Quite an accomplishment for a 2-8 bottom feeder to be edging another
3-7 bottom feeder teams.
It could have gone either way ...
Wow Scott, I am as big a fan as any, and even I am sick of your "homer" articles. Remember journalists are supposed to be "unbiased". If not, then at least be honest about it and become a part of the marketing arm of Cam Inc.
After Gano missed the extra point and the Eagles return guy broke open on the kickoff, I thought, here we go again. If that guy hadn't fumbled, the Panthers would have lost in OT again.
On the way to a Super Bowl
Yes, how 'bout those "diehard" loyal Philly fans??? They were leaving in droves after halftime, just like every other fanbase in the league with a losing team. They are not any different than any other NFL fans, they just have had a winning team for a long stretch. Eagles start losing, Eagles fans start leaving.
This is like saying he is the smartest kid in remedial math class. The best player on the field for 2 of the worst teams in the NFL...REALLY??
I don't blame Nakamura. I blame the coaches for putting him out there. Nakamura is a special teamer. He has no business being on the field unless someone is getting ready to kick the football.
All this proves is the 31st best team in the league beat the 32nd best team, nothing more.....
VICK WOULD HAVE EASILY WON THAT GAME FOR PHILLY AND HE IS ON HIS LAST LEG IN THE NFL.
You sound just like every other announcer/journalist trying to make this game sound exciting. Our offense is good, equipped with all the right weapons, and can do well if Cam executes. But we already knew that. And it's easy to execute against Phili.
Defensively, we're just horrible. How could a game be this close when Vick is out, McCoy is out, and Jackson is sidelined for most of the game. We seem to have a thing for letting undiscovered RBs trample all over us and look like stars. It's absolutely embarrassing to watch a defensive effort like that.
The way I see it, the old saying is true. Defense wins games. How do you think teams like Chicago and San Fran are thriving right now? When you have a good defense, your offense can get away with being mediocre. When you have both a good defense and offense then you're magical. The Panthers' problem last year was that the offense was amazing and the defense was horrible. This year, the offense sinks and the defense stays the same, and yet people go after Cam and Chud and clearly fail to see the weak link: DEFENSE.
Eagles have the worst defense in the league and playing without their starter Vick.
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