Carolina Panthers beat Jaguars 20-9; Luke Kuechly suffers concussion
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Carolina Panthers won the game but lost Luke Kuechly for the day.
Carolina beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-9 on Sunday, struggling through offensive inefficiency and losing its best defensive player to a concussion late in the second quarter.
The difference in a game dominated by field goals was Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, who created two turnovers and six points.
Norman punched the ball away from Allen Hurns inside the Carolina 20, stopping a drive in the second quarter. Then in the third quarter, Norman intercepted Blake Bortles and returned the ball 30 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Cam Newton finished the game 18-of-31 passing for 175 yards, a touchdown and one interception on a throw he didn’t follow through completely.
Thought to be a bigger part of the offense with Kelvin Benjamin this season, Panthers tight end Greg Olsen only had one catch on two targets for 11 yards.
Three who mattered
Michael Oher: He was beaten twice for sacks, once on a spin move and another on a bull rush. There would have been a third in the third quarter had Newton not spun away.
A.J. Klein: The third-year linebacker came on in place of Kuechly at middle linebacker and handled his responsibilities well in the second half.
Ted Ginn Jr.: Ginn had two drops in the first quarter but also had a 37-yard punt return and two catches of more than 17 yards.
Observations
▪ The Panthers had a touchdown come off the board early when tight end Greg Olsen pushed off a Jaguars defender. The Panthers went from the 4-yard line to the 25 after the penalty and a sack and kicked a field goal.
▪ Jerricho Cotchery’s big third-down conversion in the fourth quarter prolonged Carolina’s eight-minute drive that salted the game away.
▪ Norman celebrated his pick-six by “riding the pony” into the end zone and dismounting. Norman is an avid horse lover and owns multiple horses.
▪ Thomas Davis recorded his seventh career interception with less than three minutes in the game when Bortles was hit while throwing.
▪ With less than two weeks to digest the playbook, recently acquired receiver Kevin Norwood was inactive for the Panthers. He was joined on the healthy scratch list by linebacker David Mayo, running back Brandon Wegher and safety Dean Marlowe.
Worth mentioning
▪ Graham Gano missed six field goals last year and missed his first on Sunday. He was wide left from 53 yards in the first quarter, made two and then had his last attempt blocked.
▪ After Ron Rivera lost a second-quarter challenge on a Newton sneak, the coach became 6-for-19 on challenges in his coaching career.
▪ Jerricho Cotchery’s first-half touchdown matched his season total from 2014.
This story was originally published September 13, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers beat Jaguars 20-9; Luke Kuechly suffers concussion."