Carolina defense on prowl in ‘ugly’ victory
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. >> Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers’ offense were far from their usual playmaking selves.
Thanks to the opportunistic defense and special teams — and some bigtime mistakes by the New York Jets — they didn’t need to be.
Luke Kuechly returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown and Kaelin Clay had a 60-yard punt return for a score, capping a stunning swing in the fourth quarter that lifted the Panthers to a 35-27 comeback win on Sunday.
“I always hear, ‘That was an ugly win,’ but I’ve never heard such a thing as a pretty loss,” Newton said. “Either way it goes, we would prefer to get a win today. A great team win. It wasn’t a blockbuster outing offensively for us, statistics-wise. But at the end of the day, we found ways to win the football game.”
It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Panthers (8-3), who are now tied with the New Orelans Saints in the NFC South. The teams meet next Sunday in New Orleans.
“To have the guys pick it up and do things that they needed to on defense and on special teams,” coach Ron Rivera said, “it was a big boost to the offense.”
This one turned in a span of 2:11 on mistakes by the Jets — and the Panthers taking advantage.
First, Kuechly scooped up a fumble by Josh McCown, who was sacked by Wes Horton and had the ball slip out of his hand as he was about to throw, and rumbled to the end zone for a touchdown.
“Luke was luckily in position to scoop the ball up and take it to the house,” Horton said.
Newton then hurdled linebacker Jordan Jenkins for the 2-point conversion to give the Panthers a 2620 lead with 12:05 left.
After New York’s next drive stalled, the Jets were forced to punt. Clay fielded Lachlan Edwards’ kick and spun out of a tackle attempt and sped into the end zone. Newton’s pass on the 2-point conversion fell short, but Carolina was suddenly up 3220 with 9:54 remaining.
“We didn’t panic,” Clay said. “The game is never over. We just kept playing and we made plays.”
The Jets (4-7) weren’t done yet, though.
McCown drove the Jets down the field, connecting with Jermaine Kearse on a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut New York’s deficit to five at 32-27 with 5:32 left.
The Panthers were able to add to their lead, getting a 45-yard field goal from Graham Gano with 21 seconds remaining.
It was the Jets’ fifth loss in their past six games and severely damaged their playoff hopes.
“This one stings,” McCown said. “To be up in the fourth quarter and not finish it, we’ve got to find a way to execute that and be better.”