After winning the kicking competition in the preseason, Graham Gano ran onto the field for a 48-yard field goal to beat the Patriots and send the Panthers to 3-1. The kicker battle had been a divisive subject for Panthers fans as many wanted the Panthers to choose seventh-round-pick Harrison Butker, who just this week was plucked from the Panthers practice squad by the Kansas City Chiefs. Gano may have missed an extra point earlier in the game, but the eight-year veteran wasn’t concerned.
“I know once the ball leaves my foot, it’s game over.”
It certainly was.
Graham Gano celebrates with JJ Jansen after kicking the game winning field goal
The veteran kicker was true as time expired and the Panthers beat the New England Patriots 33-30 to move to 3-1 and remain tied atop the NFC South. Last week, the Panthers faced what was, at the time, the 32nd-ranked pass defense in the NFL. Against the Saints, Cam Newton managed only 167 yards to go with three interceptions, calling his lackluster play “frustrating” after the game and vowed to play better against the Patriots, who had dropped below the Saints to become the new 32nd-ranked pass defense.
This time, Newton made them look like it.
Newton had three passing touchdowns to go with his 316 yards in his best game by far this season. “I feel like this was a breakthrough game for us offensively,” Newton said after the game. “It just takes time. People have to realize, I have to realize that it takes time. This offense isn’t cereal or quick grits or instant grits; this is a full-on entree. We have to prepare it that way. Knowing, moving forward that we have impact players and playmakers, when you get the ball or give them opportunities to make plays, they will do it.”
Patriots fans show a mix of emotions as Cam finds a Panthers fan after scoring a touchdown
After throwing a first quarter interception on a questionable deep throw to a clearly double-covered Damiere Byrd on third down, Newton would go on to finish the day 22-for-29 for 316 yards and three touchdowns, including a stretch of ten straight completions that included two touchdowns immediately following the interception. When the Patriots turned the first-quarter interception into a Chris Hogan touchdown, the Panthers answered back with a beautifully designed fake screen to McCaffrey that drew most of the defense’s attention, leaving Fozzy Whittaker wide open on the left side of the field for a 28-yard touchdown. As Whittaker cruised into the end zone, Tyler Larsen and Ed Dickson literally had no one to block.
“You can build off this momentum. And you have to take it and use it now, you can’t waste it.”
-Head Coach Ron Rivera
Before the interception, the game started similarly to Week 3 for the Panthers, as they were able to hold the Patriots high-powered offense to a field goal on their opening drive and just as they did last week, took the ball and marched down the field with ease. Until they entered the red zone. Just as last week, as soon as the Panthers got inside their opponents 20 yard line, their offense began to sputter. This time, Newton slightly overthrew Devin Funchess on a fade route to the corner of the endzone and then came up just short on a third-down scramble to bring on Graham Gano for another field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
Instead of allowing the interception to send the quarterback into a downward spiral as it did last week, the turnover would galvanize Newton to finish the first half by completing his last eight passes, including the aforementioned touchdown to Whittaker and another to Devin Funchess to close out the first half. A career long 58-yard field goal would send the Panthers into the halftime locker room clinging to a 17-16 lead.
The Panthers continued their offensive prowess in the third quarter as Newton marched down the field again before a Jonathan Stewart fumble in the red zone would give the ball back to the Patriots. The Panthers would stop the Patriots again, as they were able to do for most of the day behind great play from their defensive line, specifically 37-year-old Julius Peppers, who would finish the game with four tackles and two sacks as he was in the Patriots backfield constantly. Linebackers Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson would combine for 24 tackles between the two of them, including multiple beautiful open field stop by tackling machine Kuechly. When asked if he knew how many tackles he had in the game, the Pro Bowler said he hadn’t looked.
“I just know that we won, so that makes me happy.”
Newton continued to dazzle against the Patriots, picking up first downs with his legs and continually hitting receivers all over the field whether they were wide open (as they were a fair amount) or if there were tight windows to throw into. He even dove into the endzone on a seven-yard fourth quarter touchdown run before raising his fist in the air and flashing his signature Superman celebration.
The injuries in the secondary began to pile up for the Panthers as safety Kurt Coleman exited the game with a knee injury, forcing the Panthers to use backup Demetrious Cox in addition to Kevon Seymour, who was starting for Daryl Worley, in the secondary. The Panthers utilized a mostly zone scheme with Cox and Seymour in the game, which may not have totally stopped future hall-of-famer Tom Brady, but it was enough to slow him down for three quarters as Brady was 21-for-31 for 201 yards and a lone score through the first 45 minutes. Brady looked surprisingly un-Brady like during this stretch, missing multiple open receivers, including a deep ball to a wide-open Dwayne Allen in which Brady underthrew the tight end by at least ten yards on what would have been a big gain.
But with the Panthers up two scores in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady would demonstrate the kind of cool under pressure that has come to define his career, calmly leading the Patriots down the field on a 9-play, 75-yard drive that took just over four minutes before culminating in a Dion Lewis rushing touchdown to bring them within a score. After the Patriots defense were able to force their first punt of the afternoon, Brady was Brady again, marching the Patriots down the field for another score to tie the game at 30 on fourth down from the 1-yard-line before the Panthers got the ball back and Newton drove them down the field for Gano’s field goal.
Additional Notes:
- Graham Gano missed his first kick of the season, a third quarter extra point which would have put the Panthers up by eight points.
- A 58-yard field goal to close out the first half by Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski was both the longest of his career and the longest in Patriots history.
- Newton’s rushing touchdown was the 50th of his career; the 50 rushing touchdowns are the second-most in the NFL behind running back Marshawn Lynch in the six years since Newton has been in the league.
- Jonathan Stewart would finish with 14 carries for 68 yards, becoming the Panthers all-time leading rusher, passing Deangelo Williams.
- Kurt Coleman’s knee injury is not believed to be season-ending. Other injuries were Damiere Byrd (broken radius), Demetrious Cox (unknown), Mario Addison (knee – was able to return).
- The starting wide receiver duo of Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess combined for 11 catches for 174 yards and two scores, with both receivers flashing wide open multiple times throughout the afternoon due to communication issues in the Patriots secondary.
