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Panthers defense too much for Jaguars

Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 6:39 am
by sharonorn
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- cornerback pointed at quarterback as he strolled toward the end zone, then waved bye-bye before he cro sed the goal line.Indeed, Norman was gone - and so was Jacksonville's chance of knocking off the two-time defending NFC South champion.Norman returned an interception for a touchdown, and Carolina did just enough offensively to beat the 20-9 on Sunday."Said goodbye to him on the way," said Norman, who also forced and recovered a fumble in the second quarter. "I wanted to give the defense some energy to get going."It worked as Carolina held Jacksonville to 75 yards in the second half, intercepted two pa ses Carlos Lee Jersey and got four of its five sacks.Norman provided the game changer early in the third period when he stepped in front of a pa s intended for running back and went untouched down the sideline for a 30-yard score.The big defensive score helped offset a big defensive lo s in Carolina's second straight season-opening win. It also provided a much-needed boost for an offense that managed just 263 yards as it searches for someone to replace No. 1 receiver ."A lot of good things happen when you win the takeaway battle," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said.The seemed to rally after the lo s of star linebacker , who left in the final minute of the first half with a concu sion.Kuechly wobbled Roy Oswalt Jersey to the ground after hitting Yeldon following a short gain. Kuechly tried to stand up but dropped to the ground again. He was immediately helped to the locker room, and the team later said he would not return.Kuechly signed a five-year, $62 million contract earlier this week."Any time you lose a guy like Kuechly, that's really tough," Norman said. "He's an animal in the middle. He plays with ferocious violence. Tyler Clippard Jersey We had to pick up our play at that point. I was glad to do what I could.", playing in his first game since signing a five-year, $104 million contract, completed 18 of 31 pa ses for 175 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 35 yards and threw an interception. Newton found in the back of the end zone George Springer Jersey in the second quarter for Carolina's only offensive touchdown."It wasn't pretty at times today, but we showed flashes of what we're capable of doing," said Newton, who directed a 15-play, eight-plus-minute drive late in the fourth quarter that e sentially sealed the win.Cotchery caught four pa ses for 45 yards. Jr. had two receptions for 54 yards. Ginn also dropped a likely touchdown in the first quarter.It was a sloppy game all around for the , who have lost four consecutive openers., and rookie dropped pa ses for Jacksonville. Hurns also fumbled. Rookie kicker mi sed a 44-yard field goal and an extra point.And Bortles was off all day. He finished 22 of 40 for 183 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. His first J.R. Richard Jersey one was the fifth pick-six in his 14 career starts."It's definitely surprising," Bortles said. "But it wasn't what they did to us. It was what we did to ourselves. We had multiple things where we just shot ourselves in the foot. It's fixable stuff. It's not the way you want to come out and start the season. We're not going to sugarcoat it. It wasn't good enough and we've got to be better."Copyright 2015 by The A sociated Pre s