The Carolina Panthers continued to pile up wins with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon.
Carolina took the opening kickoff and took it the distance in eight plays to open the scoring with a Christian McCaffery touchdown run. The Jaguars returned the favor in the next possession to score on the fourth play, a 37-yard touchdown from Gardner Minshew to D.J. Chark.
The next four successive possessions didn’t yield any points for either team. Carolina forced a turnover, as Minshew fumbled and Eric Reid recovered the ball.
McCaffrey rushed for five yards in the first play, Allen completed a pass to Jarius Wright, and following a penalty, Allen connected with McCaffrey for an acrobatic 18-yard touchdown. The Panthers took the lead with 1:35 left in the first quarter, 14-7.
HE FLIPPED INTO THE ENDZONE?!
@run__cmc | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/Hi3JBq2a9Z
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 6, 2019
Minshew’s bad case of the drops continues, as another fumble was scooped up by Carolina defensive end Brian Burns and returned for a 56-yard touchdown extending the Panther lead.
A couple possessions later, the Jaguars finally put more points on the board. James O’Shaughnessy rushed the ball for 35 yards to open the possession, and then Fournette rushed for two yards before Minshew connected with Dede Westbrook for a 30-yard pass. A couple plays later, Chark caught his second score from 11 yards out.
Jacksonville answered the missed field goal attempt with a field goal in the next possession after eight plays and 37 yards. Josh Lambo kicked a 35-yarder with 58 seconds left in the first half, and the score went into the half 21-17 in favor of Carolina.
The second half started with Jacksonville punt, but Carolina’s subsequent drive lasted just one play. McCaffery rushed for 84 yards, outrunning Jags defenders and extending the lead. The Jaguars answered the Carolina touchdown with a score of their own on the next possession with a one-yard touchdown from Leonard Fournette.
On the first Jacksonville possession of the fourth quarter, Josh Lambo finished a long drive by kicking a 38-yard field goal with 5:52 left in the game, trimming the Carolina lead to just one point, 28-27. In the Panthers’ first possession of the final quarter, Reggie Bonnafon ran for the 59-yard touchdown with 3:30 left in the game and extending the lead to 34-27 after Slye missed the PAT.
Minshew got the ball back with a chance to tie, but was sacked by Brian Burns and fumbled the ball, giving Marquis Haynes the opportunity to recover it for Carolina. On what would be the Panthers’ final third down, Allen threw a pass intended for Samuel but was intercepted by Tre Herndon at the Jacksonville five-yard line, and Herndon rushed for 17 yards; however, upon review, the interception ruling was reversed, and Allen threw an incomplete pass to Samuel.
Despite a flurry by Jacksonville at the end, it wasn’t enough, and two untimed downs weren’t able to give Minshew and co. the touchdown they needed. Carolina won 34-27.
Kyle Allen recorded 17 completed passes out of 30 for 181 yards and one touchdown, while Christian McCaffrey not only posted impressive receiving stats, with six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown but also had 19 carries for 176 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Moore also recorded nine catches for 91 yards, while Brian Burns and Mario Addison both recorded a sack.
On the other side of the field, Gardner Minshew II threw 26 complete passes out of 44 for 374 yards and two touchdowns. Leonard Fournette recorded 23 carries for 108 yards and one touchdown, while DJ Chark Jr posted eight receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
Next up for the Panthers: division rival Tampa Bay Sunday morning at 9:30 EST in a special game being held in London. The Jaguars will face New Orleans in another NFC South matchup on Sunday after at 1 p.m. EST.
