Recap of Carolina Panthers lost to Atlanta Falcons, 33-16

The Carolina Panthers lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 33 to 16 on Christmas eve. After winning three straight NFC South titles, the Falcons have taking the title away from the Panthers with a win against the Panthers and a Tampa Bay loss to the Saints. On first drive of the game the Falcons went 75-yards on 8 plays for a touchdown, with Matt Ryan throwing it to Joshua Perkins for a 26-yard touchdown. After Brian Poole picked off Cam Newton, Atlanta kicked a 51-yard field goal, to take 10-0 lead with 6 minutes to play in the first quarter. After Gano field goal, Ryan found D.J. Tialavea for 1-yard touchdown pass and take 20-3 lead with 5 minutes in the second quarter. Rookie Vernon Butler blocked an Atlanta field goal attempt to end the first half, that’s his second blocked field goal attempt this year. Cam found Kelvin Benjamin for a 26-yard touchdown on final play of the third quarter cutting the lead to 23-13. But after converting a 3^rd-and-21, Falcons running back Tevin Coleman ran for a 55-yard touchdown to make 30 to 13 and steal the victory for the Falcons. Tre Boston tackling on Coleman’s touchdown was terrible and looked like he playing 2-hand tag.

            After having a great game last week against the Redskins, Cam Newton had an awful game, only completed 18 of 43 passes for 198 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions with a 44.5 passer rating ranks as his 3rd worst for his career. While Matt Ryan had a great day, 27 of 33 for 277 yards and 2 touchdowns. There was some bright spot for the Panthers this game, Mario Addison come to play today recording 2 tackles for loss in the first quarter and a sack in the third quarter to put his total for the seasons 8.5. Shaq Thomson also played great, had 11 tackles for the game, second behind Thomas Davis who had 12 tackles for the Panthers. In the third quarter, Greg Olsen caught a 17-yard pass to make him the first tight end in NFL history to have 3 consecutive 1,000 yards receiving seasons. Graham Gano played with broken bone in his plant foot but he did make 3 field goals. Carolina Panthers (6-9) play Sunday at Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their last game of the seasons for the Panthers.

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers Preview

Atlanta Falcons (9-5) will come to Bank of America Stadium Saturday to face off against the Carolina Panthers (6-8). With a win or Tampa Bay loss to the New Orleans Saints later that day, the Falcons will be NFC Champions and their first playoff berth since 2012. On the other hand, the Panthers need to win out and get some major help from several teams to get the second Wild Card spot in the NFC. The Panthers are two-point favorites, Atlanta are 9-4 against the spread in last 13 games while the Panthers are 4-6 against the spread in last 12 games. The last time the Falcons went to Bank of America Stadium, they got shut out 38 to 0; while the Falcons won the last two times these teams have faced off. Including earlier this year when the Falcons beat the Panthers 48 to 33 behind Matt Ryan team recorded 503-yards passing and 4 touchdowns.

            Key Matchup in this game is Julio Jones against our young secondary, since last game he went off for a career-high 300 receiving yards against them. Julio Jones is coming back after missing two games with turf toe. Our secondary has gotten better over the past few games but this will be there biggest test yet, trying to slow down the Julio Jones, Matt Ryan combo. The three key players for the Panthers are defensive tackle Kawann Sort who has recorded 5 sacks over a 3-game span against the Falcons, he will be also getting reps at defensive end again this week since the Panthers are low on defensive ends. Panthers will be getting defensive end Charles Johnson back after missing a few games with a hamstring injury, but doesn’t sound like linebacker Luke Kuechly will play even through will was clear to play last week after passing concussion protocol. Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart are the other two key-players to played well last week against the Redskins, Cam threw for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns while Stewart rushed for 132 yards. Make sure to watch the Panthers face off against the Falcons Saturday at 1:00pm!

 

Carolina Panthers beat the Washington Redskins, 26-15 on Monday Night Football

Carolina Panthers beat the Washington Redskins, 26 to 15 Monday night on ESPN. Cam Newton is 4-0 against the Washington Redskins and is 20-5 in December/January past six seasons, the only other quarterbacks who have better records are Peyton Manning (12-2) and Russell Wilson (18-4). Redskins playoffs hopes dwindled to 25 percent after the game, before the game it was up to 53 percent. Panthers come ready to play Monday night, Panthers was up 13-9 at halftime; gaining 235 of total yards and forcing one turnover thanks to Kurt Coleman interception, that’s his 11^th since the start of 2015 mots of any NFC safety. The first play of the third quarter Wes Horton striped and recover Kirk Cousins fumble, two plays later Tolbert caught a 1-yard play-action pass for a touchdown.

            In the second quarter, on a third down play Cam Newton scramble then sled and appeared to be hit in the head by Redskins LB Trent Murphy. An official was right over the hit and threw a flag and everyone, including me assumed that it would be an illegal hit. But they called it an unsportsmanlike conduct on Cam Newton for tossing the ball at Murphy after the play, former NFL referee Greg Austin said “That was a sliding quarterback and you have helmet to helmet contact, you should have had a call there.” This constant no calls on helmet to helmet hits on Cam Newton is nonsense. The NFL has said it will protecting its players is their chief concern, but when you see Cam hit in the head constantly, not just this year but his entire career. Especially since the referee was right there and saw it happen, I understanding the unsportsmanlike conduct on Cam Newton you’re not supposed to throw a football at an opposing player when the play is dead, but it should be offsetting. I guess you can count this one up with the other no calls Cam Newton hasn’t gotten the past two years.

            Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart both had great games, Newton was 21-37 for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns while Jonathan Stewart rushed for 132 yards, the first time this seasons he rushed for over 100 yards, leading the Panthers offense to 438 total yards. Panthers defense also showed up forcing 3 turnovers and only giving up 29 rushing yards and not allowing Kirk Cousins to throw a touchdown pass. Carolina Panthers (6-8) will host the Atlanta Falcons (9-5) Saturday.

Prevewing Panther's Monday night game against the Washington Redskins

The Carolina Panthers will travel to take on the Washington Redskins on Monday night. The Panthers are 4-point underdogs, with 7 of Panther’s 13 games being decided by 3 points or less. The Redskins are 7-5, third in the NFC East and are half-game behind Tampa Bay for the final Wild Card spot. Last week Panthers beat the San Diego Chargers 28 to 16 to get back on the winning side, while the Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27 to 22. One of the biggest keys of this game is Panthers pass defense against the Redskins passing offense. The Panthers have the third worst pass defense in the NFL allowing 272.4 yards per game, while the Redskins have the second best total offense (412.1) and passing yards (302.8) per game. If the Panthers want to win this game, there secondary needs to show-up, especially rookies cornerbacks James Bradberry and Daryl Worley.  

            One of the biggest storylines of this game is cornerback Josh Norman playing against his former team who he played his first four seasons with. The Carolina Panthers drafted Josh Norman in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and was a decent cornerback his first three seasons in Carolina. But his fourth season he went off, grabbing four interceptions, and returning two of those for touchdowns. He was one of the main reasons why the Panthers started the season 13-0 and went to the Super Bowl, giving the Panthers a lock-down corner and put even more pressure on opposing quarterbacks with that stout defensive-line. But when the offseason came around Norman become a free agent and the Panthers decided to put a franchise tag on him. But in April the Panthers rescinded the franchise tag offer to Norman. Which made Norman a free agent and would eventually sign with the Washington Reskins on a five-year, 75 million dollar deal, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

            Key players for this game for the Panthers is quarterback Cam Newton, who was limited in practiced this week due to a shoulder injury but is expected to play Monday. Cam Newton is having a career-low only completing 53.5% of his passes with 15 Touchdowns and 9 interceptions. The Panthers need him to get back to his MVP ways again to win this game and have a chance to make the playoffs. The other player for the Panthers is linebacker Luke Kuechly who missed past three games because of concussion but has been fully participation in practice. Panthers need their star linebacker to help their very weak secondary. The two key Redskins players are quarterback Kirk Cousin and wide receiver Desean Jackson, will be interesting to see how the two will exploit the Panthers weak secondary and how the Panthers will try to contain both. Carolina Panthers (5-8) play against the Washington Redskins (7-5-1) Monday night on ESPN.

Panthers defense forced 5 turnovers, beat the San Diego Chargers 28 to 16

Carolina Panthers beat the San Diego Chargers, 28 to 16. The Panthers scored 23 points in the first half and without star linebacker Luke Kuechly and defensive end Charles Johnson the Panthers defense forced 5 turnovers by Philip Rivers to get the victory and keep their slim playoff chances alive. The Panthers also snapped a two-game losing streak and their first win against an AFC West team this season. Former NC State star quarterback Philip Rivers came back to the state of North Carolina and did not have a great day who was 21-39 for 236 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, he fumbled twice on sacks.

Melvin Gordon got carted off in the first quarter when he attempted to recover a Philip Rivers fumble, with Gordon leg being bent backwards in an awkward angle; he was among league leaders with 12 touchdowns on the seasons and was third in the league in yards from scrimmage. The injury occurred with 997 rushing yards in the seasons for Gordon. While The number 3 pick in last year draft and favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year Joey Bosa got injured when he was attempting to sack quarterback Cam Newton, he was initially evaluated for a concussion before it was announced that he was out for the rest of the game with a neck injury. Panthers kicker Graham Gano was 4 for 4 on field goals but got injured his foot on his last field goal.

Panthers outrushed the Chargers 126 to 58, with Johnathan Stewart 24 attempts for 66 yards and 1 touchdown. Which helped Cam Newton who didn’t have a good day throwing the ball, 10-27 for 160 yards 1 touchdown and 1 interception. After injuring his mouth in the first quarter, Devin Funchess came back in the second quarter and on third-and-goal, Funchess gained some separation against cornerback Trevor Williams in the slot, and Newton found him for a 6-yard touchdown. The Panthers defense set the tone early with 5 forced turnovers, 5 sacks and would finished the game on a Mario Addison sacked on Philip Rivers in the end zone for a safety to secure the win. The Carolina Panthers (5-8) play again next Monday to take on the Washington Redskins

San Diego Chargers at Carolina Panthers Preview

            The Carolina Panthers (4-8) will play San Diego Chargers (5-7) Sunday afternoon. Both teams have a losing record and are in last place in their divisions. The Panthers will try to overcome a two-game losing streak and an embarrassing national televise lost to the Seattle Seahawks 41 to 7. While San Diego has lost two out of their last three games. The Carolina Panthers are 0 and 3 against AFC West teams this year, while the Chargers are 1 and 2 against NFC South teams this year.

Star linebacker Luke Kuechly, safety Kurt Coleman and rookie cornerback Daryl Worley are still under concussion protocol and are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Both starting Defensive ends for the Panthers are injured, Mario Addison is listed as questionable with a foot injury while Charles Johnson could be week-to-week due to a hamstring injury. Because of this Ron Rivera has said that Kawann Short might have to take snaps at defensive end Sunday. San Diego cornerback Bradon Flowers is in the concussion protocol and did not practice Thursday.

San Diego starting quarterback Philip Rivers is coming back to North Carolina where he was the star quarterback at NC State in college. It’s been a rocky year for him so far throwing 14 interceptions which is second most in the NFL. It’s also a homecoming for San Diego head coach Mike McCoy who spent nine seasons as a receiver’s coach, quarterback coach and a passing game coordinator. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was Chargers linebacker coach in 2007 and then became the defensive coordinator the next year during his four seasons in San Diego. The last time these two teams played against each other the Panthers won 31 to 7 in San Diego in 2012, the Panthers won the four of five all time meetings against the Chargers. Make sure to watch the game this Sunday at 1 o’clock at Bank America Stadium.

Seattle Seahawks blow out the Carolina Panthers, 40 to 7

On national television, the Carolina Panthers went into Seattle and got blown out by the Seahawks, 40-7. Seattle gained 534 yards of total offense, including 240 rushing, which is terrible due to since the Panthers are supposed to have one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL. While the Panthers only gain 271 yards for the entire game. Seattle never punted the ball until the fourth quarter. Cam Newton did not start the game due to dress-code violation. So, Derek Anderson was the starter for the Panthers and on the first play of the game he was picked off and the Seahawks would eventually kick a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. It was downhill from there for the Panthers. After this game the Panthers will have losing record this season and their chances of making the playoffs are all but gone.

            At halftime Seattle was up 23 to 7, then first play of the second half Tyler Lockett jet-sweep 75-yard touchdown, to put the Seahawks up 30 to 7. By that time, the way our offense was playing and the defense couldn’t get the Seahawks off the field beside one Tre Boston interception which lead to Ted Ginn Jr. 55-yard touchdown. The game was all but over. Other notes of this game, the Panthers have an NFL high 9 players have been under concussion protocol this seasons. The Panthers had four players out injured for this game, then during the game two more players got hurt. Rookie Cornerback Darley Worley and David Mayo are under concussion protocol. Carolina Panthers leaders was Cam Newton 14/32 182 yards 1 touchdown, Jonathan Stewart 11 attempts for 50 yards, Ted Ginn Jr. 5 reception 80 yards and 1 touchdown. Seattle Seahawks leaders was, Russell Wilson 306 total yards of offense 1 touchdown 1 interception, Thomas Rawls 15 attempts for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. Carolina Panthers (4-8) play next Sunday at home against the San Diego Chargers (5-7).

Panthers vs Seahawks Preview

Over the past couple of years, the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers has become something of a rivalry. Ever since Cam Newton came into the league in 2011 the Panthers has played the Seahawks six times (including the playoffs). And the five out of six times they have played, the game has come down to a touchdown or less. The Seahawks do lead the series 4-2 during that time span, but the Panthers have beat the Seahawks the last two times they have faced including the playoff game last year that sent the Panthers into the NFC Championship game. They face off again in Seattle this Sunday night on NBC.  

But this is more than a rivalry game for the Panthers, this a due or die game for them. If the Panthers lose this game, there playoffs chances are all but gone. With center Ryan Kalil(shoulder) and his backup Gino Gradkowski(knee) being put on IR yesterday, joining left tackle Michael Oher. That’s hurts the Panthers a lot since their running game has been already bad to begin with without missing their All-Pro center and his backup. It was announced today that Kurt Coleman has been put into the concussion protocol with Luke Kuechly and there both not expected to play Sunday. The Panthers did sign free agent center Ryan Wendell and tackle Dan France from the Brown’s practice squad to take there place. Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett and there center Justin Britt is expected to be back for the Seattle but free safety Earl Thomas is still questionable with a hamstring injury. It will be interesting to see how Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense will handle Panthers young and unexperienced secondary.

If we want to go into Seattle and beat the Seahawks on primetime were going to need superman, Cam Newton himself to play lights-out and our defensive line to come up big and get pressure and contain Russell Wilson. If Luke Kuechly doesn’t play Sunday both Shaq Thomson and AJ Klein need to play well, Klein played well against Oakland expect for a few plays late in the game, mainly where he shouldn’t have been covering a wide receiver down the middle of the field for a gain of 30 yards on a third and nine, which later that drive set up the game winning field goal the Raiders. But I do think it’s going to be the toughest game the Panthers have play yet, with being in Seattle on primetime and the 12^th man in full force. And on top of all that some forecast has shown that it makes rain during the game. Make sure to watch the Carolina Panthers (4-7) face off the Seattle Seahawks (7-3-1) Sunday at 8:30 PM on NBC.