Panthers Stomp Bucs 38-23

What started as a neck-and-neck race in yesterday’s Panthers-Buccaneers Monday night football showdown ended in total Carolina domination as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart left a mark on the field at the Bank of America Stadium, combining for a whopping 301 yards rushing, another franchise record. Williams tacked up 186 yards and two touchdowns, while Stewart nearly tied him with 115 yards and two TDs of his own. This tandem was one of the contributing factors to the Panthers’ win against division rival the Bucs yesterday, and Steve Smith also nailed down 117 yards receiving, marking his 28th career 100-yard receiving game. Carolina’s strong offense once again was the shining force in a regular season game, and the team’s 38-23 win over Tampa Bay was significant in placing the cats atop the NFC South with a 10-3 record, while Tampa Bay fell behind to second with a 9-4 record. Meanwhile, the Falcons are standing at third in the division at 8-5, while the Saints are last in the NFC South with a 7-6 record.

After the game, Panthers coach John Fox claimed, “People remember what you do in December.” For the Panthers, December has already been one heck of a month, and Carolina is already focused on the team’s next games against the Broncos, Giants and Saints, respectively.

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Monday Night Football Excitement

This week’s Monday night football game just got a little more exciting, and the NFL has the Atlanta Falcons to thank for tonight’s big matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers and the Bucs are both tied for first in the NFC South with 9-3 records, and these teams are now battling for first in the division, as division rival Atlanta dropped to third in the league with an 8-5 record after losing to the New Orleans Saints in yesterday’s Week 14 matchup between the two teams.

Leaving Carolina and Tampa Bay to battle it out tonight, the Falcons are now out of the race for a first-round bye in the playoffs. Tonight’s game is monumental in what will start the postseason, and it is also an important game for Tampa Bay, a team that hasn’t been featured as the Monday night football game since the 2006 season. While tonight’s Panthers-Bucs matchup has been a long-awaited game, one player who may not see field time is Panthers’ reserve guard Jeremy Bridges, who was arrested last night on assault charges after an altercation at a restaurant.

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Panthers-Buccaneers Preview

The Carolina Panthers will take on division rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week as the Monday Night Football game, and the cats are out to revenge their 27-3 loss to the Bucs earlier this season in part of the Week 6 action. Both teams are currently tied for first in the NFC South with 9-3 records, and this Panthers-Bucs brawl is sure to be one exciting game.

In Monday night’s matchup, look to Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams to lead the Panthers in scoring, as the running back has been playing some of the best ball of the season lately and is tied for first in the league right now with 13 touchdowns. To silence the Bucs, Julius Peppers and the Panthers’ defense needs to hold down running back Warrick Dunn, who will likely get tossed the ball frequently because of Cadillac Williams’ recovery. If Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are all on top of their game on Monday, this Carolina offense is sure to cause a ruckus at the Bank of America Stadium. The most recent hearsay on the Carolina-Tampa Bay scene? Bucs head coach Jon Gruden comparing Steve Smith to Freddy Krueger. Eat your heart out, Tampa.

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Jones Named Special Teams Player of the Week

Mark Jones had already been singled out as one of Sunday’s key players in the Carolina Panthers’ win over the Green Bay Packers last weekend, but yesterday the kickoff and punt returner received even more recognition for his contributions to last week’s game. Yesterday, the NFL named Jones the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, marking the first time in his career that the incredible athlete has been honored with the award.

Jones more than deserved the recognition, as his three kickoff returns for more than 45 yards in last week’s game set the Panthers up for the 35-31 win over the Packers in what would have been a very close game otherwise. Mark Jones was on fire Sunday, finishing the day with 201 total kick-return yards, which is the most racked up by any Panther since 2001, when Steve Smith garnered 267 yards in a Carolina-St. Louis showdown. Jones was crucial in Sunday’s game setting up a good field position for Carolina, as all of his kickoff returns of more than 40 yards ended in touchdowns. Mark Jones is the third Panther to win a player of the week award this season, as Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers have also taken home the honors in Week 4 and Week 10, respectively.

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Gamble to Remain a Panther

Good news is better late than never, and that’s exactly how we feel about the news of the Carolina Panthers’ decision to sign cornerback Chris Gamble to a contract extension. Gamble signed a six-year contract with the Panthers last week, keeping him wearing that blue and black jersey through the 2014 season. The veteran cornerback is scheduled to become a free agent at the end of this season, but with his 19 interceptions, 327 tackles and 43 defensed passes to date, this is one player too valuable to cut loose.

Chris Gamble, a five-year Carolina veteran out of Ohio State, was picked up by the Panthers in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, after which he has made himself an invaluable asset to the team. The stellar cornerback has started 67 of the 72 games he’s played in, and he has racked up 19 interceptions so far in his career, ranking second overall in Carolina’s team history behind Eric Davis’ 25. The 6’1”, 200-pound Panther recently made a statement about his decision to stick with the Panthers, claiming, “I just feel very comfortable here. I love it here. I want to be a Panther.” And Carolina wants him to be one, too.

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Hope in Jones for Kickoff Return Domination

When it comes to the Carolina Panthers, kickoff return men hold a sort of legacy that no other position for the team does. Carolina’s uncanny ability to return kickoffs has largely been thanks to the incredible Michael Bates, a Panther from 1996-2000 and five-time Pro Bowler in his five seasons with Carolina, but Bates’ tenure with the Panthers is now brought up again with the team’s newest returner, a five year NFL veteran and first year Panther Mark Jones.

The Panthers hope Jones will continue where Bates left off, returning kicks to favorable field positions over and over. Jones is next in line to a revolving door of return men including Randy Baldwin, Jamall Broussard, Isaac Byrd, Nick Goings, Richard Marshall, Jamal Robertson, Ryne Robinson, Rod Smart, Dwight Stone, Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams, although most of the players failed to shine like Jones did. Smith was the team’s only other return man to return 10 or more kicks with an average of more than 24 yards, but now Mark Jones hopes to reclaim the throne for Carolina. Last week Jones returned three kicks more than 40 yards (42, 50 and 45), and he averages 26 yards a return. Could he be the new Michael Bates? Only time will tell.

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Williams, Panthers Win Big over Green Bay

DeAngelo Williams’ four touchdowns were enough for the Carolina Panthers to dominate the Green Bay Packers yesterday in a Week 13 showdown at Lambeau Field as the Packers suffered a 35-31 loss against the cats, and this big win for the Panthers kept the strong Carolina team tied for first in the NFC South (alongside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) with a 9-3 record for one more week. As talk of the playoffs increases and the regular season decreases every win is crucial, and the Panthers have proven they are one of the strongest teams in the league throughout the year with consistent play.

Williams was the big star of yesterday’s Panthers-Packers brawl, but Steve Smith was the icing on the cake in the action of the fourth quarter, catching a 54-yard pass from QB Jake Delhomme down to the Packers one-yard line in the final minutes of play time, allowing Williams to finish off what he started. Carolina linebacker Jon Beason drove the final nail in the coffin of yesterday’s game with an interception at 1:09 left in the game, giving the Panthers the ball for the final minute of playtime.

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