College Park’s Cam Newton, Panthers enjoying their ‘moment’

At 12-0, the Panthers have secured the NFC South top spot, as well as the home court advantage for the entirety of the NFC playoffs. “Same play, same concepts, but we’ve just got to execute”.

It’s a stark contrast to where the Falcons were through their first five games, sitting 5-0 and tied with Carolina atop the NFC South. At the time, the Panthers seemed like the far more likely team to collapse.

“We look for smart, tough and finish”, Quinn said. “When that doesn’t happen, yes, I have a lot of disappointment”.

After the 38-0 victory over his hometown Atlanta Falcons, Johnson sent out two tweets that appeared critical of his lack of playing time in the fourth quarter. He had three catches for 52 yards, then warmed up prior to the second half before becoming a spectator in the rout.

Jones finished the game with 88 receiving yards but it took seven receptions and ten targets to get to that total with a majority of the yards coming on a 46-yard catch.

Seattle’s Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to Doug Baldwin, who has eight in his past three games.

The fifth-year quarterback completed 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns and posted a career-high QB rating of 153.3. That’s the thing, winning the Super Bowl, they have said they’re most anxious about. When you’ve got a team like that that’s peaking, you really don’t look for anybody to make plays, you start making plays. This MVP race is down to two players and right now Newton is looking to be the favorite over Tom Brady thanks to this recent stretch of games. “They out-executed us in many different facets, and there’s not much more to say about that”. His outing was complete with the Panthers leading 38-0, with Derek Anderson replacing him by the final snaps of the third quarter. After tight end Greg Olsen left the game with a knee injury, tight end Ed Dickson reached out full extension to haul in a 4-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds remaining in the half.

Several players from both teams had taken part in a bout of pushing and shoving before the game even started but when it came down to the real on-field action it was the Steelers who had the edge.

Carolina saw tight end Greg Olsen, linebacker Thomas Davis, Stewart and cornerback Bene Benwikere hobble off with injuries at various points.

The Panthers outgained the Falcons 424-230, forced four turnovers and matched the franchise’s largest margin of victory.

The Green Bay Packers eased to a 28-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys on the back of 230 yards rushing including touchdowns for both James Starks and Eddie Lacy. Two plays later tailback Jonathan Stewart leapt to a 1-yard touchdown. Ginn, who has struggled with dropped passes, made an over-the-head grab despite pass interference on Robert Alford and raced the final 40 yards to the end zone for the 14-point lead. And that’s true notwithstanding the fact that their surprisingly effective ground game this season, particularly when second year running back Devonta Freeman is in the game.