Carolina Panthers: Stop Packers, Still Undefeated

The Carolina Panthers completed their tour of three elite quarterbacks in four games by beating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers 37-29. The game marked the second straight game where the Panthers saw a big lead slip away in the fourth quarter of a game. This time the Panthers were able to get out of trouble in regulation with a key turnover.

The Packers had just pulled within eight when Cam Newton made his only major mistake of the day and threw an interception deep in Panthers territory to Packers corner Damarious Randall. Randall had been victimized throughout the game, and this pick must have seemed like vindication for him. Fortunately the Panthers held on fourth and goal when Thomas Davis jumped to get an errant Rodgers pass.

The interception to Randall was about the only blemish on Cam Newton’s day. Yes, the Panthers offense had a hard time moving in the second half. Newton had three touchdowns passing and an additional one rushing. He found Panthers receivers Jerricho Cotchery and Devin Funchess for key conversions in the first half of fifty yards or more. He also took down a Packers banner and failed to convince Julius Peppers to give him the touchdown ball.

Final. 29. 49. 37. 87

Funchess had his biggest game as a Panther with his tough 52 yard catch from Newton and later a slant touchdown that provided the final Panthers score of the game. The more Funchess becomes part of the attack, the better off the Panthers will be.

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Neither running game was particularly impressive, but Cam and Jonathan Stewart mixed in some nice runs. For the Packers, there were times when James Starks looked unstoppable. Fortunately those moments were few as the Packers moved to pass more as the game went on. Starks also had some action in the screen game that the Panthers did not stop quickly.

The Packers went to the screen game to deal with the pressure that the Panthers brought on Rodgers. The team collected five sacks in the game. Kony Ealy had a sack and three quarterback hits to lead the team in the latter category. The Panthers brought pressure up the middle with Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short. Additionally the Panthers blitzed the A gap often with linebackers Luke Kuechly and Davis.

Next: Panthers: Lessons from Saints-Titans

The long view is that the Panthers are 8-0 with a good position relative to the rest of the NFC. The short view is going to be that the Panthers need to close out their games. We can’t have gotten so used to cardiac finishes that we go looking for them.

The Panthers play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

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