The Carolina Panthers found a way to escape with a 33-30 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday, which will only help moving forward.
It may be too early in the season to call games “must win, but the Carolina Panthers needed to get out of Foxboro, MA with a win against the New England Patriots. Thanks to Graham Gano, Carolina got the job done when he completed a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Panthers a 33-30 victory. This win helps build confidence at a critical time in the 2017 season.
The conversation of wins and losses usually starts with quarterback play and that’s going to be a consistent point for Cam Newton and the Panthers. Coming into this game, many were questioning Newton and his inconsistent play three games into the year. He responded with an exceptional, but not perfect, game against the Patriots to lead the Panthers to victory.
Newton completed 22-of-29 passes for 316 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The ball was spread around very well in the receiving game as six different players caught passes.
Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess finally looked like the 1-2 punch everyone has been expecting for the last two seasons. They combined for just 11 catches, but 174 total yards and two touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey continued to be used as a dual-threat as he brought in 34 receiving yards of his own to go along with 16 yards on the ground.
While speaking of the Panthers run game on Sunday, it is worth pointing out that the offensive line held their own against the Patriots defense. The Panthers earned 140 total rushing yards across four players, but the O-line did a much better job giving Newton the protection and the time to make plays.
In the previous two games, Newton was sacked 10 times, creating questions as to whether or not he will make it through the year healthy. He was sacked twice by the Patriots, which is still more than the Carolina front office would like to see, but is also a much-needed improvement.
Defensively, Panthers fans and players were left biting their nails in the fourth quarter. Carolina came into the final quarter with a 23-16 lead over the Patriots and added another touchdown. New England didn’t go without a fight as they scored two times in that quarter to tie the Panthers at 30 points.
Carolina’s defense has developed into a takeaway force against opposing offenses, but they were unable to keep that going against Tom Brady and company. This is especially important in the late-game situation where the Patriots were almost able to come from behind and snatch away the win.
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In recent years, this is a game that the Panthers would have found a way to lose. The team has shown a propensity to struggle in close games at the wire, and is a big reason why they struggled last season. Seeing the Panthers pull out a road win against a team that many believe to be one of the best in the league goes a long way in building confidence as they head to Detroit to take on the Lions next week.