Little-big plays are the plays that may not stand out in the box score, but go a long way to winning – or losing –a game. Little-big plays extend drives that lead to scores, turn field goals into touchdowns, or flip field position. On the other hand, negative little-big plays can abruptly end drives and take points off the board.
Here are the little-big plays that helped the Carolina Panthers beat the Tennessee Titans in Week 10 of the 2015 NFL season.
Positive plays from Panther players are marked with a plus-sign and negative plays with a minus-sign, with the players' cumulative season totals for each type of play listed by his name. For example, if on the year Cam Newton has posted six positive little-big plays and three negative plays, it would show (+6, -3).
1st Quarter
8:43 – Panthers 0, Titans 0. CAR ball 2nd-and-7 on TEN 16. Jonathan Stewart ran untouched for a 16-yard score thanks to great blocking on the left side by Michael Oher (+2, -2), Amini Silatolu (+1, -0), and Ryan Kalil (+3, -3). Jerricho Cotchery (+3, -0) also made a nice downfield block near the goal line. Perfect execution on the blocking scheme.
7:06 – Panthers 7, Titans 0. TEN ball 3rd-and-12 on TEN 16. Charles Tillman (+2, -5) lined up in man coverage against Delanie Walker on 3rd-and-12. Walker was split wide left and ran a simple skinny post and separated immediately from Tillman. Walker gained an easy 16 yards to extend a drive that ended with a Dexter McCluster touchdown and a 7-7 score.
2nd Quarter
13:17 – Panthers 7, Titans 7. CAR ball 1st-and-Goal on TEN 1. Carolina scored on a 1-yard touchdown to Ed Dickson, but it was all of the little-big plays Cam Newton (+10, -12) orchestrated on this drive to set up the score that deserve attention. Cam led a nine-play drive and never faced a third down, going 7-for-7 on the series and hitting five different receivers. Brilliant drive by Newton to push the Carolina lead to 14-7.
4:53 – Carolina 14, Tennessee 10. CAR ball 3rd-and-8 on 50 Yard Line. Following a Titans field goal, Carolina advanced the ball to midfield. Cam Newton started in shotgun with Mike Tolbert to his right as a blocker. Daimion Stafford came on a safety blitz up the middle, and Tolbert (+1, -1) shaded right on pass protection and gave Stafford a clear path to drop Cam for a 10-yard loss, forcing a punt.
2:42 – Carolina 14, Tennessee 10. TEN ball 2nd-and-12 on TEN 26. On 2nd-and-12, Marcus Mariota scrambled up the middle and had a lot of open space. It looked like Mariota would sprint for a first down, but Kurt Coleman (+5, -0) made a great break on Mariota from a deep safety position to force Mariota to slide down two yard shy of the first. Carolina held on 3rd-and-2, forcing a Tennessee punt. Great read by Coleman to prevent the first down.
1:17– Panthers 14, Titans 10. TEN punt on TEN 36. Ted Ginn broke a beautiful 87-yard punt return touchdown, but the huge play was called back due to a block in the back penalty on Joe Webb (+0, -1). The player Webb blocked was several yards removed from the play and had no shot at tackling Ginn. Instead of closing the half with a big score, the Panthers’ final drive ended with a punt.
3rd Quarter
11:39– Panthers 14, Titans 10. CAR ball 3rd-and-18 on CAR 14. Cam Newton was sacked on three consecutive plays, forcing a punt on 4th-and-24 from the Carolina 8. Tennessee’s blitzing linebackers completely confused the Panthers entire offensive line, and that embarrassing series is on Mike Shula (+4, -4) for his inability to make in-game adjustments to pick up the blitz.
10:59– Panthers 14, Titans 10. CAR Punt on CAR 8. Punting from his own end zone, Brad Nortman (+4, -1) boomed a punt down the sideline. Tennessee’s punt returner let the ball bounce assuming it would go out of bounds, but the ball miraculously rolled on a straight line essentially tip-toeing down the sideline for a 63-yard punt. Nortman’s punt was huge in flipping field position, forcing Tennessee to start their drive from their own 29.
8:23– Panthers 14, Titans 10. TEN ball 3rd-and-12 on TEN 39. Thomas Davis (+7, -2) blitzed off the edge to immediately pressure Marcus Mariota. TD’s pressure forced the Titan’s rookie QB to throw an ill-advised deep pass which was intercepted by Kurt Coleman (+6, -0) at the Carolina 42. Coleman gets credit for the pick, but it was TD’s pressure that caused the play. But despite the great starting field position, Carolina’s sputtering offense was forced to punt on the ensuing drive.
4:15– Panthers 14, Titans 10. TEN ball 3rd-and-1 on TEN 20. Anthony Fasano dropped a wide open short pass in the left flat for what should have been a first down. It was shocking to see Fasano drop such an easy pass, and the drop forced Tennessee to punt from deep in their own territory. The good field position helped the Panthers score a field goal on the next drive, extending the lead to 17-10.
4th Quarter
14:14– Panthers 17, Titans 10. TEN ball 3rd-and-8 on TEN 22. Marcus Mariota fumbled a clean snap from the shotgun and was unable to get a play off before being tackled at the Tennessee 12 by Kyle Love and Kawann Short. Tennessee was forced to punt from near their own end zone and after a good 23-yard return by Ted Ginn (+3, -3), Carolina started their drive at the Tennessee 43 and converted another field goal for a 20-10 lead.
9:02– Panthers 20, Titans 10. TEN ball 1st-and-10 on TEN 17. Thomas Davis (+8, -2) once again pressured Marcus Mariota, setting up a Kony Ealy (+5, -3) sack for a seven yard loss. The sack led to a three-and-out with Tennessee punting from deep in their own territory yet again.
7:26– Panthers 20, Titans 10. CAR ball 1st-and-10 on CAR 36. Greg Olsen (+9, -3) made an unbelievable one-handed spinning catch on a ball thrown behind him for a 16-yard gain. Olsen’s ridiculous grab set the Panthers up at the Tennessee 46, jump-starting the long drive that would end with a Cam Newton TD lunge with just 2:37 remaining, sealing the Panthers win. Newton’s score (and subsequent "controversial" dance) put Carolina up 27-10, which would prove to be the final score.
Carolina is showing the mental toughness and consistency of a potential Super Bowl champion.
Week 10 in the NFL was full of upsets with superior teams losing to lesser opponents (Houston over Cincinnati, Detroit over Green Bay, Jacksonville over Baltimore, Miami over Philadelphia, Chicago over St. Louis, etc.), reminding us that any team can win on any given Sunday.
Carolina played an inferior team in Tennessee, but the Panthers did not let up. They played tough, dominant football.
The Panthers are now 14-1 over their last 15 games going back to last season, playoffs included.
9-0 is a wonderful feeling.
Keep pounding!