Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots game recap: Everything we know

Anthony Rizzuti
·2 min read

There was a lot of ugly for the Carolina Panthers in their feeble Week 9 showing against the New England Patriots. Here’s everything we know about what was a painful fifth loss of 2021.

Final score: Patriots 24, Panthers 6

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Keys to the game

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

  • Quarterback Sam Darnold drove the offense into the ground once again. He completed 16 of his 33 attempts for 172 yards and three ridiculously frightening interceptions.

  • The Panthers defense could not contain Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson. The bulky 227-pound rusher kept New England moving, pounding Carolina for 62 yards on 10 rushes and 44 more yards on two grabs.

  • Carolina wasn’t clean. They were 3-of-11 on third-down tries, 0-for-2 in the red zone and committed 10 penalties. Their injury report won’t be clean either with defensive end Brian Burns (ankle), center Matt Paradis (knee) and left tackle Cameron Erving (calf) all taking early departures.

It was over when . . .

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

With just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, Darnold threw a touchdown pass . . . to Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson.

Jackson picked off an errant throw intended for tight end Ian Thomas and brought the takeaway back for an 88-yard score. The touchdown helped push New England’s lead to 21-6, a deficit the woeful Carolina offense would never have a shot at closing.

Players of the game

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

  • DE Brian Burns: five tackles, 1.0 sack

  • LB Shaq Thompson: 10 tackles (one for a loss)

  • S Jeremy Chinn: 11 tackles (two for a loss)

What's next?

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

The now 4-5 Panthers will travel to the desert for Week 10 to take on one of the NFC’s best in the Arizona Cardinals.

[vertical-gallery id=643698]

1

1

Recommended Stories