It would be foolish to believe that this game was already in the books after half time. The Panthers started off the game quickly by hammering the Packers for 27 points in the first half. These points came off the arms and legs of Cam Newton, who threw two beautiful touchdown passes to Greg Olsen and Philly Brown along with running one of his own in. Let's also not forget a LONG pass to rookie Devin Funchess to set up a Panthers score. The offense was rolling while the defense was thriving, causing a turnover off Charles Tillman's patented "Peanut Punch", along with 3 sacks in the first half, two of which came from defensive tackles Kawann Short. and Star Lotulelei It almost seemed too good to be true.
I feel like a basic girl, because I CAN'T EVEN with the Panthers right now
— Brian Beversluis (@brianbeversluis) November 8, 2015
That's because it was. The Packers rallied out of the gates of the second half, with a 53 yard touchdown to Randall Cobb, who has surprisingly been kept in check by nickel CB Bene Benwikere. The Panthers went three and out following that, keeping the door open for the Packers. However, instead of rolling into a prevent defense like last week, the Panthers continued to blitz and keep the defensive backs on top of their receivers. Kurt Coleman sacked Aaron Rodgers, eventually forcing a punt and showing that this Panthers team wasn't going to go into cruise control. The Panthers offense engineered another field goal drive to put them up 30-14 to enter the fourth quarter.
After trading punts the Panthers finally punched another one in with a great play by Devin Funchess, dragging a defender into the endzone for his first career touchdown. The Panthers appeared to have this one in the bag, but the Packers fought back with a great catch and run by James Starks to put them within two scores. The Panthers allowed their next drive to be stifled and gave it right back to Green Bay. The Panthers defense seemed to have it locked up after forcing a 4th and 14, but Josh Norman made arguably his only bad play of the season by going for an interception instead of just batting the ball down. James Jones was able to corral the dropped ball and get a first down, where Aaron Rogers eventually tossed another touchdown, putting the Packers within 8.
In a questionable call, the Panthers came out on their next drive throwing, where Cam through a BAD pass to Ted Ginn that was picked off by Damarius Randall, gift wrapping the perfect opportunity to tie the game up to Aaron Rodgers. Backed up on their own 22, the defense needed to stand tall against one of the best quarterbacks in the league. And that's exactly what they did. After allowing the Packers to get 1st and goal, the defense forced 4th and 4. The Packers went on a passing play, where Aaron Rodgers was pressured and threw a very rare interception to the heart and soul of the team, Thomas Davis. The Panthers are 8-0 because of it.
The Good
- How about Devin Funchess? He had a coming out party of sorts, with 3 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. I can't quite decide which play was better, this 52 yard reception or this 14 yard go-ahead touchdown.Either way, it's pretty clear why the team drafted him, and it seems he's finally making an impact. It's good timing with the team almost guaranteed a playoff spot.
- We talk about Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly every week, because oh my god they are just so damn good. Luke Kuechly played through a couple of in game injuries to rack up 9 total tackles, while Thomas Davis was a swiss army knife, making 6 total tackles, a sack, and the game clinching INT.
- Those veteran defensive backs though. The grey beards Roman Harper and Charles Tillman both have played excellent over the past few weeks, and we got to see that Peanut Punch. This defense is so much better in the passing game with two guys as experienced as they are.
- The offense as a whole seemed to click on all cylinders around Cam Newton. Multiple wide receivers caught touchdowns, the running game was there, and Newton wasn't sacked once. Good signs from a team with definite weaknesses.
- All this talk about Josh Norman, but how about Bene Benwikere? He held Randall Cobb to four total receptions. He's young and there were a couple long receptions, but for the most part he did well when playing against the Packers best guy.
- The pass rush as a whole showed up, but Kony Ealy was having his way with Bryan Bulaga. We're finally starting to see flashes of the talent that made him first round pick material. I think in a year we will all see him as a steal.
The Bad
- The stat sheet looks great for Cam, but he missed two easy touchdown passes this week and was inaccurate at times. He made good throws when needed and ran extremely well, but he can't let those gimme touchdowns go. Great game by Cam, but not as good as it easily could have been. That interception is on him as well.
- The officiating. But that's nothing new, and both sides benefited from bad calls.
- I watch Jared Allen play and it seems like he makes one move and quits on a lot of plays. Maybe it's just his veteran mileage, but it'll be great to have Charles Johnson back.
Final Words
Honestly, I felt this was the week the Panthers finally meet the buzzsaw. I even popped in this week at the "Pack to the Future" podcast and predicted a Panthers loss. I mean this was the game to lose if there's supposed to be one right? I had a sense all week that we'd get that classic Panthers "egg on their face, crap in the basket" loss where everyone's asking if they are even a legitimate contender.
I remember in the offseason looking at this past string of games from Seattle to Green Bay and thinking "if the Panthers split those games, they'll be in good shape for the playoffs." Here we are, the Panthers are 8-0. It's insane to me really. I don't think the fan base is quite used to that. I'm not. There's been a general sense all season to me that this team isn't going to last, and yet they've proved me wrong at every turn. Do they make mistakes? Sure. Do they allow teams to get back into it? Absolutely. Yet every bit of adversity thrown at this team hasn't stopped their success. They keep fighting, keep pushing, Keep Pounding.
We get Marcus Mariota and the Titans next, where the team tries to match it's current win streak record of 9.
Keep riding the high Panthers fans. It's a great time to be part of the community, a great time to write for you guys. What a privilege this year has been.