Vikings loss will be tough to forget for the Panthers
This one is going to hurt for a while. What looked like hopefully the first of many come from being victories for Cam Newton, quickly turned into a loss for the Panthers. Down just three points with 2:43 Cam Newton and the Panthers took the field looking to either tie or take the lead. Newton made some great plays moving the team down the field, one of which included a 44-yard pass completion from Newton to Brandon LaFell on a forth and 15.
Newton showed poise and got the Panthers into the redzone. But the Panthers stalled though inside the redzone, just like so many more times this season. Newton at one point picked up the first down, but a holding call on Steve Smith neutralized the Panther first down. They followed that play up with an incompletion and had to settle for a field goal to tie the game and force overtime. But that didn’t happen as the Panthers lost 24-21. Mare missed the 31-yard field goal attempt with just :29 seconds to go, leaving the Panthers devastated and now 2-6.
Wow talk about a tough loss. Man I hate putting all the blame on one person but I would not want to be Olindo Mare right now.
I’ll give Mare this, J.J. Jansen’s snap wasn’t the best but holder Jason Baker made a great play to get it down. Mare has to make that field goal. The Panthers signed him to a four year 12 million dollar deal. That means you have to make these chip shots.
A lot of Panther fans are going to not let this one go. John Kasay, the longtime Panther kicker was replaced by Mare prior to the start of the season. People thought Kasay was too old and didn’t have anything left. Instead he has hit 16-18 field goals for the New Orleans Saints, including three from 40 plus yards.
Like I said this one hurts especially going into a bye week. Cam Newton and the Panthers now will have to wait two weeks to get this taste out of their mouths. They had a chance to string a few wins together at home, now hopefully they can just put this loss behind them and get right for the rest of the season.