I've reviewed the game tape and I have what I feel are the top 5 defensive plays of the Panthers 38-19 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs. Given it was a record breaking day for our rookie QB Cam Newton it's easy to overlook this defensive performance. Our top two tacklers were in the secondary in S Charles Godfrey and CB Chris Gamble. that suggest the front 7 struggled to contain. Quite the opposite actually occurred.
- The Bucs were held to 78 yards on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) with a long run of 14 yards
- The Bucs were 0-1 in the red zone
- 4 of 5 Bucs drives into Panther territory ended in FGs and only one TD was allowed
- The Bucs were 5 for 13 (38%) on 3rd down
Not too shabby for a defense that has struggled most of the season containing even pedestrian RBs.
Play #5: 1st Qtr: On 2nd and 10 from the Carolina 34 Blount goes off the left side only to be nailed by Charles Johnson for a 4 yard loss. The Bucs eventually settled for a FG.
Play #4: 1st Qtr: On 3rd and 13 from the TB 20 DE Thomas Keiser rushes from the left side and essentially falls on QB Josh Johnson who has slipped retreating from the pass rush.
Play #3: 4th Qtr: On 4th and 3 from the Panthers 22 yard line DE Charles Johnson sacked the Bucs QB for a 10 yard loss.
Play #2: 2nd Qtr: On 3rd and 2 from the Panthers 17 the Bucs ran a WR reverse that was snuffed by DE Charles Johnson for a 12 yard loss. Again, the Bucs settled for a FG.
Play #1: 3rd Qtr: On 3rd and * from the Carolina 30 yard line DE Thomas Keiser intercepts a pass that is directed after DE Greg Hardy hits Bucs QB Josh Johnson.
Time to give the defense their due. They stopped a very good RB, a RB who was all over Sports Center two weeks earlier after running over 6 Packers on his way to a TD. Also, Big money earned every dome yet another week. The dude was huge throughout the entire game.