The Carolina Panthers traveled to Glendale, AZ to face the Arizona Cardinals in Kyle Allen’s second career start at quarterback.
The Panthers lead the all-time series between the two teams, and they added to the win column on Sunday afternoon beating the Cardinals at home with a 38-20 victory. The Panthers (0-2) and the Cardinals (0-1-1) both entered this game winless, and both teams entered play on Sunday with a rookie quarterback calling the shots.
The Cardinals were favored to win the game, especially with the uncertainty of Panthers’ star quarterback Cam Newton’s play until he was downgraded to Out on Friday afternoon.
Carolina started the game with the football and Kyle Allen completed 3-of-4 passes for 38 yards before he was sacked by Arizona linebacker Chandler Jones –– forcing a fumble –– and recovering the ball with 10:58 left in the first quarter. Cardinals’ starting quarterback Kyler Murray opened the first quarter with eight completed passes, including a one-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald. Arizona put the first points on the board 7-0 with four-and-a-half minutes left in the quarter.
The Panthers responded in the next possession with a touchdown of their own following an 11-play, five-plus-minute drive. Christian McCaffrey opened up the Carolina possession with a four-yard rush and then Allen completed the next four passes and rushed for one yard before connecting a final time with Chris Hogan.
On the Hogan reception, a penalty was called on Chandler Jones for a horse-collar tackle, resulting in a 15-yard automatic first down placement for Carolina. D.J. Moore then rushed for 12 yards, closing out the first quarter with Arizona staking to their 7-0 lead.
Kyle Allen hooked up with Curtis Samuel for a five-yard touchdown pass in the early stages of the second quarter. The Joey Slye PAT went through, tying the score at 7-7.
Arizona attempted to convert their next possession into points. But that proved to be unsuccessful as their drive lasted just seven plays, one of them resulting in a sack by Mario Addison.
Carolina was also unable to convert their next possession into points despite Christian McCaffery’s efforts to keep the ball alive with three of the five plays in the possession.
Arizona’s next possession began with a loss of yards on the first play, but Murray proceeded to complete his first five passes before throwing an incomplete pass on play no. 7. The Cardinals then benefitted from a facemask penalty against Carolina’s Tre Boston, and a 15-yard penalty was enforced.
This gave Arizona their fourth first down of the possession. But the Cardinals only mustered up three points on this drive, as Murray took another sack from Addison –– thus forcing kicker Zane Gonzalez into a 34-yard field goal try.
15 plays, over six minutes of possession… but only three points for Arizona, giving them just a 10-7 lead with less than two minutes to go in the first half.
This proved to be too much time to give Kyle Allen, as he went 3-of-3 and connected on the third pass with D.J. Moore for 52 yards and a touchdown. After the Slye PAT, the Panthers took a 14-10 lead, which would hold true through the remaining 49 seconds of the first half.
Kyle Allen went 13-of-18 for 173 yards and two touchdowns, Christian McCaffrey posted nine carries for 33 yards. D.J. Moore recorded just one reception, but it broke for a 52-yard touchdown.
On the other side of the field, Kyler Murray went 18-of-22 for 75 yards and one touchdown, along with nine rushes for 35 yards. Christian Kirk posted six receptions for 29 yards.
After regrouping at halftime, Arizona opened up the second half with the ball and, after a leading with the helmet penalty, the Cardinals automatically gained 15 yards on the first play. Murray put seven points on the board rather quickly when he connected with David Johnson for a three-yard touchdown –– giving Arizona a 17-14 with 11:20 remaining in the third.
Carolina responded in the next possession after Allen connected with Greg Olsen for 20 yards on the opening play and then McCaffrey rushed the next three plays. Allen then threw a 53 pass to Jarius Wright, McCaffrey rushed for another three yards, and then Allen again connected with Olsen for a 3-yard touchdown pass gaining the four-point lead 21-17 with a little under eight minutes left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals came back in the next possession, and after 12 plays, including three pass completions and a 20-yard rush by Kyler Murray, Zane Gonzalez kicked a 49-yard field goal that cut the Arizona deficit to 21-20 with 2:37 left in the quarter.
On the second down of Carolina’s following possession, Christian McCaffrey ran the ball for a 78-yard touchdown, changing the lead yet again to 28-20 with 1:53 on the clock.
When Donte Jackson returned an interception 25 yards to the Arizona 22, Carolina looked to take the game by the throat.
Kyle Allen opened up the final quarter with a 14-yard pass to Curtis Samuel, converting a third down, and then Allen hit Greg Olsen for the lone touchdown of the quarter, extending the lead over the Cardinals to 15.
Arizona’s first possession of the fourth quarter didn’t yield any points. In fact, it went three-and-out. Murray was sacked on consecutive plays, then threw an incomplete pass on third down. Arizona was forced to punt.
The play ended with an offensive holding penalty on Ross Cockrell and a Horse Collar Tackle on Arizona’s punter Andy Lee, offsetting each other.
Later in the quarter, Donte Jackson intercepted another pass by Kyler Murray, turning the ball over to Carolina with just under five minutes left. Carolina converted the possession into a 36-yard field goal by Joey Slye, extending the lead 38-20 with four-and-a-half minutes left.
Kyler Murray was sacked two more times in the final Arizona possession of the game, all but wrapping it up for the Allen-led Panthers. The Panthers completed the final four plays of the game before Kyle Allen kneeled on second down at the Arizona 38-yard line to end the game.
The Panthers won their first game of the season with a solid 18-point lead over the Cardinals and starting quarterback Kyle Allen produced an impressive 19-of-26 completed passes with 261 yards and four touchdowns in his second career start.
Last year, Kyle Allen was a guest of childhood best friend Christian Kirk in the State Farm Stadium. This year, he started as the quarterback for the Panthers against Kirk and the Cardinals. What a difference a year can make.
When the whole squad eats 🔥
Week 3 Highlights | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/iOfPkM9bXu
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 23, 2019
The Panthers face the Houston Texans in the Sunday Night Football game next week, Sept. 29 in Houston.
*Coach Ron Rivera announced on Monday that Kyle Allen will again start in the quarterback position against the Texans, and that Cam Newton will be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time. Carolina also placed offensive lineman Brandon Greene on the Injured Reserve list with a neck injury, and signed Bryan Witzmann to the active roster, the team announced Monday.
