Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Newton escapes injury, Panthers top Patriots
PANTHERS 25, PATRIOTS 14
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton gave the Panthers an early injury scare before returning to help Carolina defeat the New England Patriots 25-14 in a preseason game Friday night.
On the game’s opening drive, Newton scrambled out of the pocket on thirdand-9 before recklessly diving head-first — this is the preseason, after all — and landing on his head after getting upended by cornerback Jonathan Jones.
Newton was forced to leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion, but returned four plays later to a loud ovation and played the remainder of the first half.
He finished 11 of 17 for 142 yards passing and led three scoring drives — all resulting in field goals — as the Panthers built a 9-3 lead at halftime.
Running back Christian McCaffrey continued to be a major player on offense, touching the ball 10 times for 51 yards on Carolina’s opening drive which lasted nearly 10 minutes.
The Panthers ( 3- 0) had 203 yards in the first half, but couldn’t find the end zone.
It was a quiet night for Tom Brady, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 102 yards in the first half. The fivetime Super Bowl champion didn’t get much help from his receivers, who dropped multiple passes. The Patriots never did get in sync offensively and were limited to 130 yards in the first half.
“We’ve been preparing for this offense so we know they have a good team,” Panthers rookie cornerback Donte Jackson said. “They have a really good motion offense that likes to get things done efficiently. We were just prepared for it. That’s all it was.”
Backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke scored on a rollout in the second half and Garrett Gilbert connected on a TD pass to Mose Frazier for Carolina’s only touchdowns. New England’s only touchdown came with 2:51 left when Mike Gillislee scored on a 2-yard run. BRONCOS 29, REDSKINS17 Adrian Peterson showed the Washington Redskins what they needed to see in his debut by rushing for 56 yards on 11 carries in a loss to the Denver Broncos in each team’s third preseason game. Peterson carried the ball seven consecutive plays on one possession, and the 2012 MVP later picked up 15 yards on fourth-and-1. The Redskins signed Peterson on Monday after injuries to three running backs and were eager to see what the 33-year-old had in the tank. They got their answer: enough to likely earn the starting job Week 1 at the Arizona Cardinals. After only three practices, Peterson looked to have passed Rob Kelley, Kapri Bibbs and injured backs Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall on the depth chart. Peterson’s play was a bright spot for the Redskins as they were carved up by Case Keenum and Denver’s first-team offense, and Alex Smith was an unimpressive 3 of 8 for 33 yards in four series. Keenum was 12 of 18 for 148 yards before giving way to backup Chad Kelly.
GIANTS 22, JETS 16
Sam Darnold led the New York Jets on two touchdown drives, moving closer to securing the starting quarterback job in a loss to the New York Giants. The No. 3 overall draft pick made his second consecutive start, finishing 8 of 16 for 86 yards — including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Terrelle Pryor. Darnold is competing with Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown for the Jets’ starting job, but the rookie is being given every chance to be under center when New York opens the regular season at Detroit on Sept. 10. Bridgewater came in on the Jets’ second offensive possession of the second half, while McCown never played. Bridgewater was 11 of 15 for 104 yards. Darnold got off to a solid start, leading an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the Jets’ opening series that was capped by Bilal Powell’s 10-yard touchdown run. Darnold converted two third-and-long plays during the possession, first with a 13-yard completion to Neal Sterling. On third-and-13 from the Giants 35, Darnold showed off his scrambling ability by scooting to his left and zipping upfield for 14 yards. After Darnold’s 11-yard completion to Robby Anderson, Powell ran off left tackle and was untouched into the end zone to give the Jets (1-2) an early 7-0 lead. Darnold’s second series went nowhere, hurt in large part by a false start penalty on tight end Eric Tomlinson. Hunter Sharp took Lachlan Edwards’ punt from 55 yards out and zig-zagged a bit on his way to the end zone to tie it at 7 with 3:52 left in the opening quarter.