The Carolina Panthers’ run at a perfect regular season ended with a far-from-perfect effort.
They gave up too many big plays, the biggest being a 70-yard touchdown to Julio Jones in the second half. They didn’t make enough plays, dropping first-down passes like the one to tight end Greg Olsen with just under seven minutes to go.
Quarterback Cam Newton struggled throughout. He was throwing high during warm-ups and it continued in the game.
Newton finished with a passer rating of 69.0 after throwing five touchdown passes in three of his last five games.
Newton was 0-for-7 on third and fourth downs. It was the first time in his career he failed to complete a third-down pass.
The player that likes to celebrate like “Superman” saw his final bid to keep the streak alive on the ground with a lost fumble with 1:02 remaining.
In the end, Carolina’s run at perfection ended with a 20-13 loss to an Atlanta Falcons team it manhandled 38-0 two weeks earlier.
Source: ESPN