Carolina Panthers Save Dismal Season with Emphatic Win over Cardinals

The 2016 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Carolina Panthers. After winning 15 games and representing the NFL in Super Bowl 50 a year ago, the Panthers lurched their way to five losses in six games.

There wasn’t a team in the NFL more desperately in need of a win in Week 8. If the Panthers had any hopes of making the postseason, they had to get a win against the visiting Arizona Cardinals coming out of their bye week.

The Panthers accomplished that goal in a 30-20 victory, and while there’s still a ton of ground to be made up before the Panthers can say the word playoffs with a straight face, this game might just have saved Carolina’s season.

The Panthers started the afternoon in impressive fashion. On the first drive of the game, defensive tackle Star Lotulelei stripped the ball from Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer. Linebacker Thomas Davis scooped it up and raced 46 yards down the sideline, and just like that, it was 7-0.

Play of the game!!!TD for TD!!! https://t.co/zGSIyRE9nv

— CAR Panthers News (@CarPanthersNews) October 30, 2016

The Panthers were only getting started.

On their second offensive series of the game, Carolina drove 75 yards in nine plays, with tailback Jonathan Stewart punching it in from two yards out. Stewart capped off a 65-yard march with a one-yard plunge on their next drive. The Panthers completely smothered the Arizona offense in the first half, and by intermission, it was 24-0 and the game was effectively over.

Yes, the Cardinals made things a bit more interesting in the second half with the Panthers’ playing prevent, but this contest wasn’t as close as the score indicated. It was easily the team’s best performance of 2016.

And it isn’t hard to figure out why the result Sunday was so different than what we’ve seen from Carolina so far in 2016.

For one day at least, the Panthers fixed most of the issues that have dogged them this year.

Stewart had his best game of the season, gaining 95 yards on 25 carries. The Panthers rushed for 141 yards as a team, well above their season …

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