The Carolina Panthers are for real.
Despite a pass interference flag that shouldn’t have been picked up by the referees at the end of the game (regardless of whether it was catchable, Luke Kuechly kept Rob Gronkowski from having an opportunity to catch the ball) the Panthers proved they’re part of the top tier of the NFL, trading shot-for-shot with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
And while the Panthers defence is getting a lot of the credit for the turnaround, we pointed out a few weeks ago that Cam Newton has been the real difference maker in Carolina.
Newton and the Panthers got off to a rough 1-3 start, during which the former Auburn standout completed 58 percent of his passes, had a combined quarterback rating of 82.3 and threw six touchdowns to five interceptions.
Over Carolina’s six-game win streak, now the longest in the league, Newton has a completion percentage of 70, a quarterback rating of 106.3, 10 touchdown passes and just three picks.
After being overshadowed by last season’s rookie class of quarterbacks, Newton is playing the best football out of all of them, except maybe Russell Wilson.
But it’s not just Newton’s numbers that are standing out.
On multiple occasions Monday night, Newton took matters into his own hands on big third down conversions—the Panthers were 8-for-11 on third down against the Pats—and displayed excellent decision making all night long, knowing when to stand in the pocket and when to tuck it in and get the yards on the ground.
Newton’s vastly improved play has lifted the Panthers within a game of New Orleans in the NFC South and into the top five of the power rankings for the first time this season.
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Sunday night was the Broncos’ most complete performance of the season. Denver adapted to beat the Chiefs at their own game, running the ball effectively and grinding out the clock. Most notably, the offensive line, which has struggled this season, kept the league’s best pass rush to zero sacks and just two pressures on Peyton Manning. |
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Seattle has been playing its best football in November, and it’s a good thing too, as the Seahawks are heading into the most crucial two weeks of the season with matchups against the Saints at home and the 49ers in San Francisco. In just 16 plays on Sunday, Percy Harvin made an immediate impact. Seattle’s offence is only going to get better, and that’s a scary thought. |
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Drew Brees, who still had 305 yards passing, and the offence didn’t have its best day against a stout Niners’ defence—but the Saints defensive unit was once again the difference on Sunday. New Orleans kept Colin Kaepernick quiet while stifling Frank Gore and San Francisco’s sixth-ranked run offence. |
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All things considered, the Chiefs played a solid game against the NFL’s top offence. The secondary played extremely well, not allowing too many big plays. But Kansas had to get to Peyton Manning if they wanted a chance to win, and they just couldn’t. |
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Despite what should have been a pass interference call at the end of the game, the Panthers proved they are for real by going shot for shot with Tom Brady and the Patriots. Cam Newton put in the best performance of his career on the biggest stage, including numerous clutch plays on big third downs and a perfect seven-for-seven drive leading to what would be the game-winning touchdown. |
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No football game should end the way Monday night’s matchup did, but in the end Brady was right—the Patriots didn’t make the plays they needed to in order to beat a tough Panthers squad. New England needs to put this loss behind them and get ready to host Peyton Manning in another huge contest for the Pats. |
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Give credit to San Francisco for going into New Orleans and playing the Saints to the final minutes, the first team to do that since Atlanta in Week 1. But the 49ers need more from their offence; it’s that simple. For the second straight week Colin Kaepernick and company have been held to under 200 total yards and had less than 100 yards rushing for the first time since opening weekend. |
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Doesn’t this Bengals squad remind you of the classic Bears teams? Big plays on defence and special teams helped secure the AFC North lead as Cincinnati heads into its bye week. Andy Dalton, however, has done everything in his power to throw away that lead, literally. If Dalton doesn’t start making better decisions, the Bengals will end 2013 with another early playoff exit. |
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If the Colts can’t start getting it together in the first half of games, it’s going to end Indy’s season a whole lot earlier than they intend—likely in the wild card round. Chuck Pagano must thank his lucky stars—pun intended—for his quarterback every week, because without Mr. Luck they’d be toast. Who else is starting to think the Browns stole a first-round pick for Trent Richardson? |
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Maybe it’s just not in the Lions’ DNA to make things easier for themselves. After a historic first half for Matthew Stafford—who became the Lions’ all-time leading passer—Detroit’s offence took the second half off. The Lions’ secondary was also exposed, giving up more than 350 yards and four touchdowns. |
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Thanks to continued turnover-free play from Nick Foles, the Eagles have won three straight, including their first at home in 11 tries and are above .500 for the first time since Week 1. Foles’ play has been instrumental to Philly’s resurgence, there’s no doubt, but success of the run game is the key to the offence as LeSean McCoy became the league’s first 1,000 yard rusher this season. |
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Josh McCown and the Bears toughed out a huge win over the Ravens in this season’s version of the Mud Bowl. McCown wasn’t overwhelming, but made key plays when Chicago needed including a critical pass to Marcellus Bennett to set up the game-winning field goal. And with that, the Bears are tied for the NFC North lead. |
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The off-week for Tony Romo and the Cowboys may have done more harm than good. Dallas lost the lead in the NFC East after the Eagles beat the Redskins and now the Cowboys head to MetLife Stadium for what is a must-win game against the surging Giants. |
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Don’t look now, but Carson Palmer may be getting it together in the desert. Palmer had his best game in year against the Jaguars on Sunday and now the Cardinals are right in the thick of things in the NFC. Don’t get too excited though Cards fans, it was a win against the hapless Jags and Arizona mustered just 14 rushing yards against the league’s worst run defence. |
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Just when we thought Geno Smith and the Jets were ready to take control of the sixth spot in the AFC, the rookie quarterback took a serious step backward in Orchard Park on Sunday. Rex Ryan’s offence may not need a big playmaker under centre, but it needs more efficiency. If Smith’s struggles continue, should Ryan consider a switch in an attempt to save the season? It’s a question worth asking. |
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Engulfed in a hugely publicized harassment scandal and without four of their opening-day starters along the offensive line, the Dolphins were able to overcome the odds and give their post-season hopes a lift. Most impressive was Miami’s defence, who held Philip Rivers and the Chargers’ offence without a touchdown in the final three frames. |
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Welcome to the 2013 season, Ray Rice, so nice of you to show up. Rice had his best game of the season at Soldier Field by a long shot. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about his $120-million quarterback. Joe Flacco’s struggles persisted Sunday, including a ghastly pick-six to Bears defensive end David Bass. Flacco has to be better, his contract demands it. |
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Sunday was a perfect example of why the Chargers won’t make the playoffs this season. San Diego’s play on both sides of the ball has been far too inconsistent and now the team finds themselves on the bottom of the AFC West due to a tie-breaker with the Raiders. It’ll be tough to rebound from the loss to the Dolphins. |
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Either Ben Roethlisberger is putting the recent trade rumours to bed or he’s showing potential buyers what they could be getting. Sunday’s win over the Lions puts the Steelers right back in the post-season race. After giving up huge yards to Calvin Johnson and the Lions offence in the first half, Pittsburgh’s defence went into lock-down mode in the second. |
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You really don’t appreciate how much this team needs Aaron Rodgers until he’s gone. This week the Packers couldn’t even run the ball against the Giants, something they’ve had no trouble doing since Rodgers has been injured. Green Bay needs its quarterback to return soon before the damage is too severe to overcome. |
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The Rams are a game and a half behind the rest of the NFC West and, unless they win out, are effectively done for 2013. St. Louis has many questions to answer in the final six games, the biggest of which comes at quarterback with Sam Bradford’s expiring contract. |
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It’s hard to believe that was the same Bills team (minus its top receiver) that put up an absolute stinker in Pittsburgh last week. EJ Manuel was almost perfect, Buffalo’s young group of receivers shone once again and the defence absolutely ravaged Geno Smith. With a favourable schedule ahead, the Bills still have a shot at the playoffs. |
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Mike Mayock was right – Chris Johnson was running better than he had since 2010 in the first quarter of last Thursday night’s game. So why did Tennessee coach Mike Munchak hand him the ball just four times in the second half? Luckily for the Titans, no one else wants the sixth spot in the AFC either, so Thursday night’s loss wasn’t the nail in the coffin. |
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Is anyone really even that surprised the Giants are 4-6? Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning have made a living off of mid-season runs like this. After turning the ball over 23 times in the first six games, Manning and the offence have limited that number to six in the last four games. That’s been the difference. |
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Reports surfaced Sunday morning that undrafted rookie Matt McGloin was in a position to take Terrelle Pryor’s starting job, and he showed us why against the Texans. ‘McLovin’ showed no signs of the first-year jitters on his way to three touchdown passes, including this beauty to tight end Mychal Rivera. |
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What’s the perfect recipe for losing? Start with allowing 31 points in a single quarter, add a handful of turnovers (four to be exact) and – BAM! – you’ve got a 41-20 rout in what could’ve been a season-changing win for the Browns. And so goes life as a Cleveland sports franchise. |
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Once again a slow start doomed the Redskins on Sunday, ultimately bringing an end to any of Washington’s hopes of a playoff appearance. Robert Griffin III was awful in the first half, before rebounding for late scores to make the game close. But, much like the story has been all year in the U.S. capital, it was too little, too late. |
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There’s nothing but positives to take out of the Bucs’ second-straight win. Mike Glennon completed all but three passes with two scores, Vincent Jackson had another huge game and third-string back Bobby Rainey torched the Falcons defence. A month ago, no one would have pictured this team climbing out of the NFC South basement. |
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Minnesota stuck with the Seahawks for the better part of two quarters, but the Vikings’ inadequacies reminded us all why this team has fallen so far this season. Poor play from Christian Ponder, especially in the fourth quarter, and uninspired play on defence once again sunk this team. Big changes are coming in the Twin Cities. |
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I’m sorry, but why did Gary Kubiak think putting Matt Schaub in the game would give the Texans offence a boost? Case Keenum actually has a future with this team, the Texans are playing for nothing and Schaub has done the complete opposite of boost his team all season. Schaub’s shouting match with Andre Johnson sums up Houston’s season in a nutshell — a complete train wreck. |
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So is this rock bottom for Matt Ryan and the Falcons? Just when you think it couldn’t get much worse, it does. A team entering the season with Super Bowl aspirations now sits in the bottom of its division after being outscored 135-61 during a four-game losing skid. It’s hard to imagine Mike Smith surviving this wretched season. |
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After two quick touchdowns to start the game Sunday, it was back to the same old from the Jaguars. Jacksonville couldn’t do anything offensively after scoring their first two TDs at home this season and, with Tampa Bay’s improved play, cemented their standing as the NFL’s worst. |
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