Of all the sounds the Carolina Panthers heard Sunday, none was better than the silence that filled CenturyLink Field after Greg Olsen’s game-winning touchdown catch.
Down 23-14, Carolina went 80 yards on each of its final two possessions for touchdowns that left the Carolina Panthers jubilant and the Seattle Seahawks stinging about a second straight fourth-quarter collapse.
Newton capped Carolina’s fourth-quarter rally with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Olsen with 32 seconds left, and the Panthers improved to 5-0, rallying for a stunning 27-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman had some miscommunication on the game-winning 26-yard touchdown throw to Panthers tight end Greg Olsen with under 32 seconds left. They both appeared to believe that the other man would cover Olsen, and something went wrong.
Newton was 12-of-15 for 169 yards in the fourth quarter and threw for 269 yards overall. His first 80-yard drive in the final quarter resulted in Jonathan Stewart’s second 1-yard touchdown run with 3:55 left to cut Seattle’s lead to 23-20. But Graham Gano pulled the extra point wide left.
After Carolina’s defense forced Seattle to punt, Newton led a final 80-yard scoring drive that left Seattle stunned for the second straight week.
“We’re doing what we expected to do,” Newton said. “It comes as no surprise to us. It was going to be a big game. We were going to expect a lot from so many players.”
Carolina winning its first four games was impressive. But this victory adds the validity.
“It’s a great win, but it does only count for one,” Olsen said. “That’s the reality of this business. But it felt good. We’ve had our battles against these guys.”
FINAL SCORE:
27.23 |
Quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
Panthers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
Seahawks | 3 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 23 |