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SPORTS

Newton's big day for Panthers goes for naught

Monday, September 19, 2011
(Updated 9:16 am)

CHARLOTTE (AP) — For the second straight week, Cam Newton threw for more than 400 yards, sidestepped pass rushers and moved the Carolina Panthers up and down the field.

Leave it to Aaron Rodgers and the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers to spoil Newton's home debut.

Rodgers threw for 308 yards and two scores, while the Packers withstood a 432-yard passing day from the No. 1 overall draft pick to beat the Panthers 30-23 on Sunday.

A week after throwing for 422 yards — most in league history by a rookie in his professional debut — Newton topped himself by setting an NFL rookie record for passing yardage in a game. He passed for one touchdown and also ran for a 4-yard score with 37 seconds left to bring Carolina (0-2) within seven, but the Packers (2-0) recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.

The NFL said Newton has also set a league record for most passing yards in the first two games of a career (854).

"I knew he would be good, but if I told you I knew he'd be this good this early, I'd be lying to you," said Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji, who had one of four sacks of Newton. "He doesn't get frustrated. We threw a lot of stuff at him today and he was able to sit back there and make some of the plays they needed."

While Newton racked up the big yards, Rodgers was the one to direct his team to a victory. He found Greg Jennings for a 49-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter, the go-ahead score in a run of 23 straight points to erase an early 13-0 deficit.

Then, after Clay Matthews stopped Newton a yard shy of the marker on a fourth-down run inside the 5, Rodgers found Jordy Nelson for an 84-yard touchdown that made it a two-possession game and helped the Packers hang on.

"It wasn't clean by any means," Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. "We can sit here and pick apart all the things that didn't go right, but most importantly, we finished it as a football team."

While Newton had another big yardage day, the Packers' defense came up big by forcing the rookie into three interceptions — two by Charles Woodson. Matthews' stop came as Newton and the Panthers were closing in on a tying touchdown.

Two plays later, Rodgers found Nelson on the left side, and the receiver sprinted down the sideline and all the way to the end zone to push the lead to 30-16 with 2:14 left.

Newton went on to crack the 400-yard mark on the ensuing possession, finding Steve Smith deep over the middle for a 62-yard pass before capping the drive with his scoring run. He completed 28 of 46 passes and showed plenty of mobility — he made Matthews miss on tackles at least three times — and finished as Carolina's top rusher with 53 yards.

Rodgers said he impressed by the rookie's play. "I think someone said in the locker room that I'm kind of glad we played him early in the season," Rodgers said, "because when he figures it out fully, he's going to be even tougher to stop."

Just as with last week, Newton wasn't in the mood to celebrate after a loss.

"We've just got to get it right. We're going to get it right," Newton said. "But I'm not the person to just sit up here and say, 'Well, we have next time.' I'm not that type of person. I want it right now and I want to get it right now."

Newton couldn't have asked for a better start in his home debut in front of a crowd loudly cheering his every move and hoping he'll reverse the franchise's sagging fortunes. He threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell on his first drive. Then, after a fumbled kickoff return by Randall Cobb, Newton directed the first of two field-goal drives to take the 13-0 lead.

But Rodgers and the Packers offense — which spent most of the first quarter on the sideline — finally got in rhythm while Newton started making mistakes.

"When we go back and really get to watch the tape, we'll see he missed a read here, he missed a throw here, but for the most part, he handled himself with the type of poise and composure you would not expect," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said.

Green Bay 0 7 16 7 — 30
Carolina 10 3 0 10 — 23

Car—LaFell 3 pass from Newton (Mare kick)

Car—FG Mare 20

Car—FG Mare 33

GB—Kuhn 1 run (Crosby kick)

GB—G.Jennings 49 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick)

GB—FG Crosby 37

GB—FG Crosby 19

GB—FG Crosby 34

Car—FG Mare 21

GB—Nelson 84 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick)

Car—Newton 4 run (Mare kick)

A—73,167

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs — Green Bay 16, Carolina 26

Total net yards — Green Bay 419, Carolina 475

Rushes-Yards — Green Bay 21-124, Carolina 21-71

Passing — Green Bay 295, Carolina 404

Punt returns — Green Bay 0-0, Carolina 2-11

Kickoff returns — Green Bay 3-53, Carolina 5-107

Interceptions ret. — Green Bay 3-6, Carolina 0-0

Comp-Att-Int — Green Bay 19-30-0, Carolina 28-46-3

Sacked-Yards Lost — Green Bay 1-13, Carolina 4-28

Punts — Green Bay 3-38.7, Carolina 2-37.5

Fumbles-Lost — Green Bay 1-1, Carolina 1-1

Penalties-Yards — Green Bay 7-57, Carolina 6-50

Time of possession — Green Bay 27:26, Carolina 32:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

Green Bay—Starks 9-85, Grant 6-25, Rodgers 5-13, Kuhn 1-1.

Carolina—Newton 10-53, D.Williams 5-13, Stewart 6-5.

PASSING

Green Bay—Rodgers 19-30-0-308.

Carolina—Newton 28-46-3-432.

RECEIVING

Green Bay—Finley 5-68, Starks 3-30, Grant 3-14, G.Jennings 2-55, Cobb 2-25, Nelson 1-84, J.Jones 1-15, Driver 1-10, Kuhn 1-7.

Carolina—Stewart 8-100, Smith 6-156, LaFell 4-49, D.Williams 4-23, Shockey 3-56, Naanee 2-14, Olsen 1-34.

MISSED FIELD GOALS
None.

Accompanying Photos

Gerry Broome (Associated Press)

Photo Caption: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton walks off of the field following the game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday.

PACKERS 30, PANTHERS 23

Comments

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whyus

September 19, 2011 - 9:28 am EDT

Win or lose, it is still great entertainment to watch Cam and company. He can throw for 1000 yards a game but if the defense can't stop anyone, it doesn't matter.

Abruti

September 19, 2011 - 11:13 am EDT

The 3 interceptions hurt. At least one was just a TERRIBLE throw.

However, to do this against a defense like Green Bay has shows that the Panthers are capable of doing big things.

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