Why They Lost: Green Bay Falters In Carolina
By Kenn Korb
Nov 8, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) runs in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
2nd Quarter Foibles
The game started off alright for Green Bay. They weren’t exactly gangbusters out there, but after one quarter the Packers were up 7-3.
Then came the second quarter.
Carolina just went off to a massive degree.
They started scoring with reckless abandon, while their defense was able to step up and prevent Green Bay from doing anything the rest of the half.
Here’s how the Carolina drives went in the 2nd Quarter:
- Touchdown
- Field Goal
- Missed FG
- Touchdown
Now here are the Packers’ drives:
- Punt
- Punt
- Fumble Lost
- Punt
- End of Half
Besides that half-ending drive (6 plays, 71 yards; not enough time to finish), those other drives amounted to a mere -9 yards on 11 plays.
Negative.
Nine.
Yards.
What happened in that second quarter was ultimately what set up the loss; going into the half down 27-7 put the team into an unbalanced, hurry-up state for the rest of the game just to have a chance at coming back.
They were right there at the end due to a combination of the offense finally breaking open on some plays and the defense eventually stopping the bleeding and making some key stops towards the end, but this quarter ultimately doomed them.
Next: Plodding To Nowhere