For me, this victory for the 2013
Carolina Panthers was as much about saving this season as it was about avenging last season. Let's revisit a day we would all rather forget.
September 20th, 2012
Revisiting the box score from this game, it tells me that the NY Giants beat the Carolina Panthers 36-7. What the box score doesn't describe is the overwhelming anger and sadness that every Panthers fan felt on that night. I could barely watch the whole game. What followed was a dismantling of everything that had been built in the Ron Rivera era. Cam Newton was nationally criticized for his performance, his pouting, and his Superman TD celebration while trailing by 16 points late in the game. The offense was terrible and the defense was worse. When a team only gets one or two nationally televised games a year, you can't drop an egg like this. In front of the Charlotte fans no less, this is the kind of loss that kills the spirit of your fanbase. Just read BW Smith's paw prints article after the game. (If you want to punch a wall)
In week three of the 2013 Panthers season, there was an uneasy feeling that we had read this book before. The 24-23 loss to Buffalo in week two was the same old story from 2012. This loss was shockingly ripped from the jaws of victory. Coach Rivera was widely blamed for his conservative handling of the fourth quarter and his decision to kick a field goal with 01:38 remaining. He was simply trying not to lose instead of trying to win. The defensive front seven finished with zero sacks. Byron Bell was a turn-style allowing 4.5 sacks out of a total 6 sacks allowed. The secondary was even decimated by injuries resulting in blown assignments by reserves on the game winning drive. We had lived through enough games like this to know what was coming next. Or so we thought.
Gearing up for week three vs the Giants, optimism was at its lowest. Even the
CSR match up article was downright depressing.
Brian Beversluis wrote:
In a game that is likely a "must win" to turn the season around, the Carolina Panthers will have their hands full. On paper, the Giants match up extremely well with the Panthers. The likely outcome is Cam will get harassed all day by Giants pass rush, while the Panthers defense won't be able to stop the pass with a weak, broken down secondary.
And then something unexpected happened. Complete and utter domination. Our defensive front seven posted seven sacks. The Giants only posted 18 yards of offense in the first half.
Cam Newton played arguably the most complete game of his career. Our offensive line only allowed one sack. Carolina posted its first shutout since
week five of the 2008 season. The entire team seem transformed.
Even our own Ron Rivera began to transform. On fourth and one on the Giants two yard line, Ron Rivera went all in. In week two vs the
Bills, I would have fully expected old Ron to take the field goal to secure the first points on the board. But this was the new Ron Rivera that we would come to love over the next several weeks. Riverboat Ron Rivera was born. Just as this game sparked the incredible run to the playoffs, this play sparked the change that would lead Ron Rivera to the AP Coach of the year award.
Panthers 38 Giants 0
Looking back, I choose to believe that the 38-0 blowout victory over the Giants closed the door on the rebuilding stage of the Panthers. The victory was the beginning of a 12-2 run to close the regular season and provide the first NFC South championship and playoff birth since 2008.
If the 2014 Carolina Panthers continue to build on their success from last season and become the first Panthers squad to post winning records in back to back seasons, this game should be remembered as page one of our next chapter of success.
Editor's Note: This series is a flashback of the 2013 season game by game by new, aspiring applicant authors to CSR. If you find one that you think is well written please give it a Rec. We will use the Recs as one of the measures to evaluate and select our new authors.