There’s no way anyone could have predicted what went down in the Carolina Panthers’ Week 10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. But we tried!
Here’s how we did.
Panthers win the coin toss
Carolina snapped their three-game losing streak in the coin toss department last week. It’s time to start another streak in other direction. Two in a row!
Outcome: Correct. Two in a row? Two in a row.
Cardinals do not score on their first possession
The aforementioned Newton news should not only reinvigorate the fan base, but it’ll probably give the team itself a little boost as well. It’ll show early, with Arizona being denied a mark on the scoreboard.
Outcome: Correct. Not only did Arizona not score on their first possession, but they coughed it over. Defensive end Haason Reddick came up with a strip-sack of Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy to squash his former team’s first drive just three plays in.
. . . or for the rest of the first quarter
And it’ll continue to show. The Cardinals have reached the end zone in the first quarter over each of the last two weeks. Not today.
Outcome: Correct. The Cardinals went scoreless for the entire half, with the Panthers jogging into the tunnel for the break up 23-0.
But the Panthers do
The lone score of the first 15 minutes will be a field goal, perhaps of the 40 to 45-yard range, for former Cardinal and current Panther Zane Gonzalez. Revenge game?
Outcome: Correct. We didn’t get the exact details right, but the title thingy in green is all that matters. The Panthers did, indeed, score in the first quarter. In fact, they hit the end zone twice in their first two possessions thanks to quarterback Cam Newton.
P.J. Walker is held to under 225 passing yards
Walker’s getting quite the task in only the second start of his career. He’ll be facing the league’s sixth-stingiest pass defense, as the Cards have allowed just 209.9 yards through the air per game. Walker isn’t the guy to turn that tide.
Outcome: Correct. Walker did a fine job of not imploding, as he completed 22 of his 29 throws. But those connections amounted to just 167 passing yards.
At least 60 of those yards find Robby Anderson
Anderson has amassed just 27 receiving yards over the past four games. Four! A change at quarterback, with a guy Robby has some Temple ties to, might spark a change.
Outcome: Incorrect. Robby didn’t amount to 60 yards. But he did record 37—more than his previous four weeks combined—and a touchdown pass from Newton.
Christian McCaffrey finishes with over 100 scrimmage yards
McCaffrey, even in the limited serving he got last week, remains the focal point of this struggling Panthers offense. He recorded 106 yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots on 18 total touches while playing in under half of the unit’s snaps. He’ll hit the mark again.
Outcome: Correct. McCaffrey blew this one out of the water. He totaled 161 yards from scrimmage—rushing for 95 of those on 13 carries with the other 66 coming on 10 receptions.
James Conner finishes with over 125 scrimmage yards
Carolina’s defense can be pretty stingy, too, having relinquished 293.1 total yards (second-fewest) per contest. But they’ve had some trouble wrapping up cleanly of late and Conner will find himself plenty of opportunities coming off a 26-touch game.
Outcome: Incorrect. Conner wouldn’t see the same success McCaffrey did. He rushed for 39 yards on 10 attempts and added just 25 more on three grabs.
Cam plays
He won’t start, but Newton sees the field for at least a few plays. One thing still hasn’t changed since the last time the former MVP was here—he’s still a potent dual-threat quarterback. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady works in a spicy call or two to get Cam’s feet wet ahead of next week’s big homecoming.
Outcome: Correct. And did he ever. Newton played a total of 12 snaps, picking up those two touchdowns in what were his first two touches of the pigskin of the season.
Panthers lose
That good energy coming off the Newton addition won’t be enough for the Panthers to somehow topple the NFC’s best. Cardinals win by a comfy margin.
Outcome: Incorrect. Hey, who saw this coming? Panthers won, 34-10.