PFF: Cam better than Brees Thursday. Luke is the best player in football.

[nctarheel0619]

Quarterback grade: Cam Newton, 83.7

Newton leads Panthers to win

Cam Newton was pressured on nearly half of his 35 dropbacks in the game. He completed just five of 15 passes when under pressure, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Four passes were either thrown away or he was hit as throwing. Out of his five completions, four went for either a first down with at least 10 yards to go or a touchdown, including the pinpoint TD pass to Ted Ginn in the back of the end zone at the end of the first half. He also had a pass dropped and another poked out by the defensive back before the wide receiver had secured the catch.

Top offensive grades:

QB Cam Newton, 83.7

G Andrew Norwell, 82.1

FB Mike Tolbert, 80.3

WR Kelvin Benjamin, 77.2

WR Ted Ginn, 76.7

Offense struggles to run ball again Saints’ front seven

The Panthers had very little success running the ball. Jonathan Stewart averaged just 1.7 yards per carry, and 30 of his 31 rushing yards came after contact. Newton rarely carried the ball, and he had just one run that went for more than two yards, which was a 12-yard run late in the game on 3rd-and-14. Neither had much help upfront, where tight ends Greg Olson and Ed Dickson really struggled, particularly on power-scheme plays. The offensive line wasn’t nearly as bad, but still did not grade above-average outside of Andrew Norwell. The two players on the right side of the offensive line—Trai Turner and Daryl Williams—also gave up three pressures each.

Top defensive grades:

S Kurt Coleman, 90.1

LB Luke Kuechly, 88.5

DT Kawann Short, 82.2

DE Mario Addison, 79.9

LB Thomas Davis, 79.0

Kuechly dominant before exiting early

The Panthers’ win keeps their playoff hopes alive, but it comes with mixed emotions. Luke Kuechly was carted off in a scary scene later in the game with a reported head injury. Before he left, however, Kuechly made it clear once again that he’s the best player on any football field he steps on. He recorded a batted pass, five stops, and yielded just 18 passing yards on five targets. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery as the Panthers will need him to have any chance at making the playoffs down the stretch.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-no-car-grades-cam-newton-excels/

[KendrickPanther]

Luke Kuechly is our most productive kick returner. Just saying.

[BIGH2001]

I am in favor of at least 2 maybe 3 new offensive line starters next season. And please for the love of god find some depth at those positions that shouldn't otherwise be in the CFL

Sent from my SM-N920V using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[PandaPancake]

Yeah but can Luke play left tackle?

[nctarheel0619]

2 minutes ago, PandaPancake said:

Yeah but can Luke play left tackle?

God do I hate Mike Remmers.  

[uncfan888]

We were playing a third string backup at center and someone who should only see a field on ten snaps a game (remmers). I have a feeling the line will be addressed this offseason 

[truthjuice]

LOL Mike Tolbert's grade. Beside that catch and run, what did he do that was so spectacular? Maybe I missed something. 

[Montsta]

16 minutes ago, PandaPancake said:

Yeah but can Luke play left tackle?

Probably better than Remmers actually. 

[pantherfan49]

1 hour ago, nctarheel0619 said:

 Jonathan Stewart averaged just 1.7 yards per carry, and 30 of his 31 rushing yards came after contact.

Something tells me that our o-line sucks.

[nctarheel0619]

2 minutes ago, pantherfan49 said:

Something tells me that our o-line sucks.

Well, they aren't good.  

[Catufb85]

#PrayForLuke...  Luke is the best player in franchise history in my opinion. I pray for a speedy recovery! 

[nctarheel0619]

1 minute ago, Catufb85 said:

#PrayForLuke...  Luke is the best player in franchise history in my opinion. I pray for a speedy recovery! 

This offseason Rivera has to get rid of Shula.  And Gettlemen has to fix the Offensive Line man.  Can't waste Luke and Cam's primes because he's stubborn.  

[Catufb85]

1 minute ago, nctarheel0619 said:

This offseason Rivera has to get rid of Shula.  And Gettlemen has to fix the Offensive Line man.  Can't waste Luke and Cam's primes because he's stubborn.  

Agreed!  We have too much talent to keep letting up double digit leads because we want to play so damn conservative.  That was a divisional rival on a national stage and we squeaked out by the hair of our teeth. I was in the stands last night while many were cheering in the 3rd and 4th quarter for first downs and such and I was sitting there shaking my head at times because the reality is we turned the switch off and played not to lose instead of stepping on the Aints necks. 

[csx]

What happened to our guards? They along with Williams the supposed mauling right tackle should be able to at least be OK sometimes in the run game.