Patriots Fall To Panthers
By Sam Nipatnantaporn 11-20-13
(AP Photo/Bob Leverone, File) — Image by © Bob Leverone/AP/Corbis
After a two-week wait, New England Patriots fans felt the pain on Sunday. The Carolina Panthers beat the Patriots 24-20. On top of that, a controversial last minute play kept the Pats from one final chance to turn it around.
The Panthers got out off a quick start as Brandon LaFell caught a 9-yard touchdown from Cam Newton on a 90-yard scoring drive.
The Patriots were short handed on the defensive side of the ball. Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and safety Steve Gregory were out of the lineup with injuries.
In the first minutes of the second quarter, Stevan Ridley lost a fumble on the Carolina 13-yard line. It was Ridley’s third lost fumble of the season and eighth fumble of his career. The Panthers turned the fumble into points with a 12-play, 62-yard drive resulting in a field goal.
There was a little over a minute left in the first half, Stephen Gostkowski got the Pats on the board with a field goal, cutting the lead to seven.
Early in the third quarter, Rob Gronkowski took a 9-yard Tom Brady pass to the end zone to end an 80-yard game tying drive. Gronkowski became the fastest receiver in NFL history to reach 40 touchdowns, surpassing Randy Moss’s 39, all in just 47 games.
The tie didn’t last long though. The Panther’s ensuing possession was an 81-yard drive resulting in a Cam Newton to Greg Olsen touchdown pass. Panthers took a 17-10 lead.
The Patriots showed its resilience early in the 4th quarter to tie the game again on a nine-play, 80-yard drive scoring drive. New England then took the lead on a Gostkowski 26-yard field goal to make it 20-17.
The Panthers wouldn’t go away quietly. Cam Newton led his team downfield and with 59 seconds left in the game, connected with Ted Ginn Jr. for the go ahead touchdown.
The game ended with a Brady interception to seal the Panther’s 24-20 win. But a controversial penalty may have cost the Pats the game. A flag was thrown for interference. That’s been hotly debated. The referee says, though, the ball was intercepted at about the same time physical contact was made.
Carolina is now 6-0 when scoring first.