Carolina Panthers Keeps Hopes For A Perfect Season Alive

The Carolina Panthers successfully fended off the greatest threat to a possible perfect season as it contained the New Orleans Saints, 41-38. Both teams were able to secure double-digit leads during the game but the Cam Newton rose up to the challenge as they defeating their division rival.

The first half saw a number of turnovers for Carolina as it lagged behind 14-0. However, it was able to recover and ended the half with a 3-point deficit, 16-13. The second half became a standard shootout between the two teams as both the Saints and the Panthers refused to yield.

While Drew Brees was able to score 22 points in the second half against among the best NFL defensive teams, Newton showed more resiliency as he led the Carolina Panthers to a number of plays down the field. He was either running 30 years in a 4th-and-1 or threw deep passes through enemy territory into the hands of his wide receivers. The wide receivers were able to outrun the limited defense of the Saints. Newton completed 28 of 41 passes for a total of 331 yards along with five touchdowns. Newton also ran the ball eight times for a total of 49 years, and almost completed a touchdown.

Carolina Panthers Keeps Hopes For A Perfect Season Alive - image credit: bleacherreport.com

Cam Newton was able to throw at least five touchdown passes in two of the last three weeks. He also copped the franchise record for consecutive completions at 15. It was broken after a pass to Ted Ginn, Jr. was intercepted. A 72-yard touchdown would have resulted from the broken up play since Ginn would have no difficulty in outrunning Brandon Browner. Another potential touchdown was also missed later when Corey Brown was not able to catch the pass.

The fourth quarter saw Ginn dropping another potential touchdown for the Carolina Panthers when he was not able to control the ball when he found himself along in the downfield. However, Newton was able to finish the drive after a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery.

On the other hand, the defense of the Panthers struggled to control the New Orleans Saints as it allowed its rival to score 38 points. This was the biggest number of points the team gave up since Week 10 of the previous season. But, the team was able to ride out a bad game before winning it, essentially increasing its chances of completing the season with a perfect record. The win of the Carolina Panthers over the New Orleans Saints gave the teams its third straight division title as the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the same day.

The four remaining games of the Carolina Panthers will be against teams with records no better than 6-6, increasing its chances of getting a perfect record for the season.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday December 07 2015, 10:53 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0