In the season opener, the Carolina Panthers get the win, defeating the San Francisco 49ers, 23-3! Behind a suffocating defensive effort that including 4 sacks, an interception, and 3 fourth-down stops. Carolina allowed the fewest points they’ve ever allowed in an opener, the fewest before this game was 6 points in 1996 against the Falcons. Late in the first quarter, defensive end Wes Horton started the impact plays by the defense, stripping quarterback Brian Hoyer, defensive tackle Star Lotulelei recovered the fumble; three plays later quarterback Cam Newton connected with wide receiver Russell Shepard on a 40-yard touchdown pass. Two Graham Gano field goals after Panthers stopped the 49ers on fourth-down near mid-field extended the lead to 13-0 at halftime. The defense picked up right where they left off at on the first drive of the second half linebacker Luke Kuechly intercepted Hoyer and couple plays later Newton found running back Jonathan Stewart for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 20-0.
The MVP for the Panthers this game for me would be safety, Kurt Coleman, in his first game as Carolina Panthers captain, he had couple key tackles on third and short that got the defense off the field, he tilled 6 solo tackles. Personally, Coleman is one of my favorite Panthers defensive players, he plays smart, great tackler and loves to intercept the ball and his celebration is simple but great. But like I said earlier the entire defense was great today, if they play like they played today, the Panthers have a good shot of making the playoffs again. The secondary surprised me on how good they played, I knew Bradberry and Coleman would play good but Worley and Adams both played good and held an offense that loves to throw the ball under control. The offense needs to work on a few things, Cam looked very rusty in the first half; underthrowing Kelvin Benjamin which got intercepted, overthrowing a wide-open Ed Dickson in the end zone. He did settle in a groove in the second half and play better but still needs some playing time to get all that rust off. Rookie running back Christian McCaffrey looked good, had 45 yards on 13 carries and added 5 catches for 38 yards but did lose a fumble in the fourth quarter. There’s nothing much else to say about today’s game, Panthers looked great. Carolina Panthers (1-0) home opener is next Sunday against the Buffalo Bills (1-0) with Bills head coach and former Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott homecoming.
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