49°Haze
4:20 PM ET, January 3, 2015
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Top Performers
Passing: C. Newton (CAR) - 198 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INTRushing: J. Stewart (CAR) - 24 CAR, 123 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving: F. Whittaker (CAR) - 1 REC, 39 YDS, 1 TD
Associated Press
Panthers Eliminate Cardinals From Playoffs
He said that made Saturday all the more special.
The Panthers held Arizona to 78 yards and forced three turnovers in a 27-16 win, the franchise's first postseason victory in nine years. It's the fewest yards ever allowed in an NFL postseason game.
Cam Newton overcame two turnovers and threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns and Jonathan Stewart ran for 123 yards and a score on a rain-soaked afternoon.
More from ESPN.com
Forget
the Panthers' losing record. The new hot topic is how far their defense
can carry them after an epic playoff performance, David Newton writes.
Story
Injuries
decimated Arizona this season, but there's plenty of optimism in the
Arizona locker room following a loss to Carolina in the playoffs, writes
Josh Weinfuss. StoryThe Panthers (8-8-1) held Arizona to 12 yards in the second half, intercepted Ryan Lindley twice and sacked him four times in a dominating performance.
Carolina's defense has undergone a remarkable turnaround this season, going from 27th in the league in Week 7 to 10th entering the playoffs.
And the Panthers only seem to be getting better by the week.
"We had a lot of new guys early on who had to get accustomed to each other," said Kuechly, the All-Pro middle linebacker who had a game-high 10 tackles and a key interception. "Now we're all together and communicating -- and that's huge."
The New York Giants held the previous NFL record for fewest yards in a postseason game, limiting Cleveland to 86 yards on Dec. 21, 1958.
The Panthers had 386 yards.
Newton was quick to deflect attention to his defensive teammates after his first career playoff win, calling their performance "lights out."
No Passing Grades
Neither
quarterback was particularly effective, with both starters failing to
reach the league average in completion percentage or yards per attempt
on throws past the line of scrimmage.| Newton | Lindley | |
|---|---|---|
| Comp-att | 47.8%* | 50.0%* |
| Yds per att | 6.2* | 4.5* |
| TD-Int | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Off-tgt pct | 35%* | 25%* |
| * Worse than NFL average | ||
| -- ESPN Stats & Information | ||
The Panthers will play at top-seeded Seattle next weekend if Dallas beats Detroit on Sunday. If the Lions win, the Panthers play at Green Bay.
It appeared the Panthers wouldn't get the yardage record, but Arizona began lateraling the ball around the field on the final play and lost 19 yards.
It was a fitting end to the Cardinals' offensive ineptitude.
Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, the only player remaining from the last Carolina team that won a playoff game, called it the most dominating defensive performance he's ever been around.
"Our coaches did a great job and when they lined up in their formations we knew exactly what to expect," Davis said. "We just ran to the ball and made plays."
After a 9-1 start, Arizona's once promising season was undone by a rash of injuries, including to quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton.
Lindley simply wasn't up to the task of leading a playoff team.
Trailing 27-14, Arizona recovered a Newton fumble and returned to the Carolina 8. But with a chance to get his team back on the game, Lindley fired over the middle but was intercepted by Kuechly, essentially sealing the Carolina win with 11:48 left in the game.
Arizona coach Bruce Arians refused to pin the blame on his young quarterback.
"I thought he did great up until the first interception," Arians said. "He managed the game as well as he could. We didn't do a good job of putting ourselves in manageable third downs. But we got the big break and he tried to force one in that should have never been thrown."
The Cardinals finished the season 11-6, but lost five of their final seven games.
"As a team, we always fought," defensive tackle Frostee Rucker said. "It was always the next man up. At some point, we just didn't have anything left. Everyone should hold their heads high. Every person gave it their all, this whole season, win or loss."
Trailing by one at halftime the Panthers scored two touchdowns in a span of 1 minute, 32 seconds late in the third quarter to take control.
Rookie running back Fozzy Whittaker caught a pass in the flat from Newton, reversed fields and got a key block from Kelvin Benjamin to spring him for a 39-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, Melvin White stripped returner Ted Ginn Jr., a former Panther, at the Arizona 3 and Kevin Reddick recovered for Carolina. A pass interference penalty on Tony Jefferson on third down gave Carolina a new set of downs, and Newton took advantage. He found wide-open fullback Mike Tolbert in the left flat for a 1-yard touchdown and a 27-14 lead.
Carolina outgained Arizona 208-65 in the first half, but entered the locker room trailing 14-13 after two costly turnovers led to two Cardinals touchdowns.
Game notes
Panthers rookie wide receiver Philly Brown left with a shoulder injury and did not return. ... Charles Johnson had two sacks for the Panthers. ... Arizona had 27 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
hoto Wire
Carolina Panthers players Mike Tolbert, left, and Mario Addison, right, sign autographs for fans as they arrive...
(AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
(AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
Team Stat Comparison
ARI
|
CAR
| |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 8 | 25 |
Passing 1st downs
| 5 | 9 |
Rushing 1st downs
| 2 | 12 |
1st downs from penalties
| 1 | 4 |
3rd down efficiency
| 3-12 | 5-15 |
4th down efficiency
| 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Total Plays | 47 | 74 |
| Total Yards | 78 | 386 |
| Yards per play | 1.7 | 5.2 |
| Total Drives | 17 | 14 |
| Passing | 51 | 198 |
Comp-Att
| 16-28 | 18-32 |
Yards per pass
| 1.6 | 6.0 |
Interceptions thrown
| 2 | 1 |
Sacks-Yards Lost
| 4-31 | 1-0 |
| Rushing | 27 | 188 |
Rushing Attempts
| 15 | 41 |
Yards per rush
| 1.8 | 4.6 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-3 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 7-38 | 8-80 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
Fumbles lost
| 1 | 2 |
Interceptions thrown
| 2 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 22:54 | 37:06 |
Receiving Leaders
| ARI | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 0 | 21 |
| Fitzgerald | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 0 | 14 |
| CAR | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
| Whittaker | 1 | 39 | 39.0 | 1 | 39 |
| Olsen | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 0 | 16 |
Scoring Summary
| FIRST QUARTER | ARI | CAR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | FG | 11:27 | Graham Gano 47 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 7 plays, 19 yds, 2:03
| 0 | 3 |
| TD | 5:21 | Jonathan Stewart 13 Yd Run (Graham Gano Kick)
Drive info: 8 plays, 57 yds, 3:51
| 0 | 10 |
| SECOND QUARTER | ARI | CAR | |||
 | TD | 14:56 | Darren Fells 1 Yd pass from Ryan Lindley (Chandler Catanzaro Kick)
Drive info: 6 plays, 30 yds, 2:15
| 7 | 10 |
| TD | 2:50 | Marion Grice 1 Yd Run (Chandler Catanzaro Kick)
Drive info: 4 plays, 17 yds, 2:04
| 14 | 10 |
| FG | 0:15 | Graham Gano 39 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 9 plays, 59 yds, 2:35
| 14 | 13 |
| THIRD QUARTER | ARI | CAR | |||
| TD | 5:36 | Fozzy Whittaker 39 Yd pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano Kick)
Drive info: 1 plays, 39 yds, 0:14
| 14 | 20 |
| TD | 4:04 | Mike Tolbert 1 Yd pass from Cam Newton (Graham Gano Kick)
Drive info: 3 plays, 3 yds, 1:24
| 14 | 27 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | ARI | CAR | |||
| SF | 0:03 | B. Nortman tackled in End Zone by J. Bethel for a Safety
Drive info: 4 plays, -9 yds, 1:51
| 16 | 27 |
Research Notes
The
Cardinals produced just 78 yards in their loss to the Panthers, the
fewest yards ever gained by a team in an NFL playoff game.
[+] |
Neither
quarterback was particularly effective Sunday, with both starters
failing to reach even the league average in completion percentage or
yards per attempt on throws past the line of scrimmage.
[+] |
Ryan Lindley
was 1-of-7 for 21 yards and an interception on throws at least 15 yards
downfield, a 14.3% completion percentage on deep throws that tied for
Arizona's worst in a game this season.
Lindley was 3-of-7 for 31 yards and 2 interceptions targeting Larry Fitzgerald,
the first time a quarterback threw multiple interceptions targeting
Fitzgerald in a game since Week 5 of 2013 (also against the Panthers).
|
With
the Panthers victory, teams with non-winning records have won the last 4
Wild Card games and are 6-1 in Wild Card games this century
[+] |
The Panthers ran 13 zone-read rushes Sunday, their most in a single game since Week 4 of 2012. Cam Newton
gave the ball to his running back 9 times and they gained 59 yards on
those plays (6.6 yards per rush). Newton kept the ball 4 times and
gained 13 yards. Carolina's zone read was hitting on all cylinders in
the first half, going for 63 yards on 7 rushes.
|
The
Cardinals' 1.7 yards per play average was the lowest in any game since
the Chiefs gained 1.6 yards per play in Week 14 of 2010 against the
Chargers. Brodie Croyle and Tyler Palko were the quarterbacks for the
Chiefs that day.
The Cardinals gained 13 yards in the second half Saturday, the lowest
total for a team in a half since the 2011 Chiefs gained 4 yards in the
first half of a Week 14 game against the Jets. Palko was also the
quarterback for the Chiefs in that game.
|
Lindley averaged 1.4 yards per dropback Saturday, the lowest by a playoff quarterback in the last 9 seasons (Joe Flacco, 2.6 in 2010 Divisional Playoff vs Steelers). The Cardinals failed to gain yards on 21 of Lindley's 32 dropbacks.
|
Arizona
is the first Super Bowl host to even reach the postseason since the
2000 Buccaneers. No Super Bowl host has won a playoff game since the
1998 Dolphins.
|
Patrick Peterson
is 1 of 5 defensive backs in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl in at
least each of his first 4 seasons in the league. The first 3 players to
do it are in the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame
[+] |
Cam Newton was 2-for-2 for 16 yards targeting Kelvin Benjamin on the opening drive and 0-2 targeting all other players.
|
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