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 Thrilling game, bizarre ending.
Brady and the Patriots were miffed after a penalty flag that was
thrown in the end zone on the final play was suddenly picked up and
waved off Monday night, giving the Carolina Panthers a 24-20 victory
over New England for their sixth straight win.
Cam Newton led the Panthers 83 yards on 13 plays and threw a 25-yard
touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. with 59 seconds left to give the
Panthers the lead.
The Patriots had a chance at an improbable comeback when Brady moved
New England to the Carolina 18 with 3 seconds left and fired into
the end zone as time expired. Rookie safety Robert Lester
intercepted the pass, but an official at the back of the end zone
threw a flag for pass interference on linebacker Luke Kuechly, who
had both arms wrapped around tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The officials then gathered, however, and referee Clete Blakeman
announced there was no foul on the play and the game was over.
"There was no explanation given to me. Officials ran off the field.
I didn't see anything," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "There
was a flag thrown and then the game was over."
Blakeman said after the game that back judge Terrence Miles saw
there was contact and Kuechly was not playing the ball, and that
initially led Miles to call defensive pass interference. But
Blakeman said the officials met and decided the ball was
"underthrown" and it came down to a matter of "uncatchability."
A pass-interference call would have put the ball on the 1-yard line
and given the Patriots one more shot at a game-winning touchdown
with no time on the clock.
"You never like to end the game like that on a call but I'm pleased
that our officiating crew got together and communicated and
discussed it and ultimately we believe we got it right," Blakeman
said.
An angry Brady ran down two officials to argue the call as they
walked off the field, but later said he didn't get a good look at
the play.
"I don't make the calls or the rules," Brady said. "I wish it
wouldn't have come down to that. I think there were plenty of plays
we could've made. But it did, and they're going to make the call or
they're not going to make the call. But we can play better than
that."
Brady conceded he was cautious on the throw.
"(Gronkowski) was kind of weaving in and out of there. I didn't
really want to throw it over his head and out of bounds, so I was a
little indecisive," he said. "It wasn't a great throw. No excuses.
Should have been a better throw."
Kuechly, who had a critical pass-interference call in a Week 2 loss
to Buffalo, was a little nervous when he saw the flag on the ground.
"I was like, 'Oh, jeez. I don't know what this is going to be,'"
Kuechly said. "My back was to Brady. I was just playing his eyes,
playing his hands, waiting for his eyes to get big and his hands to
go up and I was going to try to break it down. I didn't really see
where the ball went. I think Robert had a hand on it or something.
There were guys around that ball and that's what helps you out."
Given a reprieve, the Panthers (7-3) celebrated.
Brady finished 29 of 40 for 296 yards and one touchdown. Newton
completed 19 of 28 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns. He
also ran seven times for 62 yards in what will go down as one of his
best games a pro.
After the game, Carolina coach Ron Rivera called it a "gutsy
effort."
Newton's winning touchdown drive in the waning minutes of a game was
the type of leadership performance the Panthers have been waiting
for from the third-year pro.
Newton said "people want to keep making it about me and the plays
that I made, but it's not a one-man show, by far."
It just seemed that way.
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He was 5 of 8 for 57 yards and ran twice for 18 yards on the
go-ahead drive.
Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, who had 62 yards on four
catches, said Newton came of age Monday night.
"It's just fantastic, just watching Cam grow, watching him lead this
team, watching him go 85 yards," Smith said. "You hear all about
statistics, about other guys having game-winning drives. Now Cam has
his game-winning drive against a big team, against a worthy
opponent. Just watching the young man grow — I just saw that young,
24-year old Cam Newton just chipping away and just a little hint of
greatness is starting to shine through a little bit."
Carolina moved within a game of first-place New Orleans in the NFC
South. The win came eight days after a 10-9 victory over reigning
NFC champion San Francisco.
The Panthers entered the fourth quarter with a 17-10 lead, but
Stevan Ridley made up for an earlier fumble with a 1-yard touchdown
run and the Patriots (7-3) took a 20-17 lead with 6:32 left when
Stephen Gostkowski slipped a 26-yard field goal just inside the left
upright.
Carolina came right back down the field and Newton hit the speedy
Ginn on a hitch route. Ginn escaped Kyle Arrington along the left
sideline and outraced Logan Ryan to the left pylon for his third
touchdown of the season.
Newton gave Carolina a 17-10 lead in the third quarter on an 81-yard
touchdown drive that took more than 8 minutes off the clock and
featured a scramble in which the third-year quarterback avoided four
tacklers and turned a potential 20-yard sack into a 14-yard gain and
a first down.
Newton completed all seven passes on the drive for 77 yards, finding
Greg Olsen at the right pylon with 2:10 left to put the Panthers
back in front.
"Cam did the things he needed to do to put us in position to win the
football game," Rivera said. "It has a lot to do with his maturity
that we have talked about."
Carolina entered the night as the NFL's No. 1 defense and didn't
disappoint early, sacking Brady twice and holding Gronkowski to one
catch for 14 yards in the opening half. The Panthers hadn't given up
a touchdown in eight straight quarters before Gronkowski's short TD
catch tied the score at 10 on the first drive of the second half.
Newton got Carolina the early lead by zipping a third-down throw to
Brandon LaFell near the goal line with 2:44 left in the first
quarter, capping a 90-yard drive that took more than 5 minutes off
the clock.
The drive included a 42-yard catch by Smith against cornerback Aqib
Talib, who drew a personal foul penalty when he refused to let go of
Smith's right foot after the receiver's second catch, setting off a
brief scuffle.
Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson left early in the third
quarter with a right knee injury but returned on New England's final
drive.
NOTES: The Panthers have outscored their opponents 45-8 in the first
quarter. ... The Panthers held a moment of silence before the game
for former team President Mike McCormack, who died last week. ...
Brady fell to 13-5 on Monday night. ... Patriots tight end Michael
Hoomanawanui injured his knee in the first half and didn't return.
... The Panthers got only 41 yards rushing on 16 carries from their
three running backs. ... Shane Vereen had 65 yards on eight
receptions in his first game since returning from a broken left
wrist in the season opener.
___
AP NFL website:
http://www.pro32.ap.org/ [Associated
Press; Steve Reed, AP Sports Writer]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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