Colts Run Past Panthers 31-7

The Panthers shot out of the gate with a clock-milking drive to take an early lead on the Colts. It was all Colts from there. The defense started strong too forcing a 3-and-out. But then Ryne Robinson took all the wind out of the Panthers with a fumble that gave the Colts a short field. The defense stood up the rest of the half but let the Colts take the lead at the half 10-7.

In the end I don’t think the Panthers would have beaten the Colts without the turnovers. They needed to play a perfect game and they came up way short.  I know when I look at the tape I’m going to wonder why we stopped throwing it to Steve Smith. Why didn’t Carr ever take a shot downfield?

Here were some key plays and players:
• Joe Addai put up three TD’s as he kicked it in high gear in the second half
• Reggie Wayne got loose for 100+ yards and a long TD on Ken Lucas
• Dallas Clark was again hard to cover and provided several key 3rd down conversions
• The Colts defense tackled very well and contained Steve Smith. They also prevented the big plays from the Panther passing game.
• The Colt offensive line did not give up a sack and only allowed Peyton Manning to get hit a few times

On the positive side for the Panthers:

• Jeff King had a nice day with 8 receptions for 63 yards
• Mike Rucker led the Panther defense with 7 tackles
• Jon Beason started at MLB and played well in coverage tipping several passes over the middle
• Na’il Diggs had a forced fumble and almost recovered another (but it was ruled an incomplete pass)
Other notes:
• Vinny Testaverde (12 FOR 20, 82 YDS, int) went out with a foot injury and David Carr (11 FOR 18, 68 YDS) replaced them. He didn’t fair any better than Vinny
• DeShaun Foster started at RB (19 carries, 62 yds) and averaged a little over 3 yds per carry.
• DeAngelo Williams was contained and only got 5 carries for 14 yds. He had 4 receptions for a single yard, showing how intent the Colts were focused on stopping the plays out of the backfield
• After catching two passes on the first drive Steve Smith was shut out

I was hoping we would hang with the Colts for most of the game and we did until the 3rd quarter. In the end it was a miserable performance for the Panthers and didn't provide much to build on going forward.