Stewart runs for 3 TDs; Panthers beat Vikings
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton delivered the body blow and Jonathan Stewart provided the knockout punch for the Carolina Panthers.
Newton’s 62-yard run set up Stewart’s one-yard touchdown leap — his third TD run of the day — with 1:47 remaining to lift the Panthers to a 31-24 victory Sunday, snapping the Minnesota Vikings’ eightgame National Football League winning streak.
Stewart accounted for 103 of Carolina’s 216 yards rushing — including a 60-yard touchdown burst in the first quarter — against the league’s second-ranked defence, as the Panthers prevented the Vikings (10-3) from clinching the NFC North division title.
But it was Newton’s run that turned out to be the play of the game.
After Carolina squandered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, Newton rolled out to his left, saw an opening and the six-footfive, 245-pound quarterback was off to the races before being pulled down from behind at the Vikings eight-yard line.
Newton joked after the game that he got tackled on purpose. “It was very strategic, when I think back,” the 2015 league MVP said with a smile. “Because, if I would have scored, they would have had all of their timeouts left. So I felt like, hey, let me flip this car back into third gear.”
The Vikings did use all of their timeouts, but the Panthers still scored. The Vikings turned the ball over on downs on their final possession.
Newton threw for 137 yards and a TD and ran for 75 yards as the Panthers (9-4) recorded their third 200-yard rushing game of the season to move into a tie with New Orleans atop the NFC South.