Cam Newton, Panthers deal blow to Redskins' playoff hopes
LANDOVER, Md. — With their season teetering on the brink of irrelevance, the Carolina Panthers beat the Washington Redskins on Monday night behind a balanced offensive attack and a steady performance from quarterback Cam Newton.
The 26-15 loss dropped Washington (7-6-1) out of the NFC's second wild-card slot for the time being. The Green Bay Packers (8-6) slide in as the sixth seed, holding a slim tiebreak advantage over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two weeks to play in the regular season.
But in what was billed as a revenge game for Washington cornerback Josh Norman, whom the Panthers parted with in April after rescinding his franchise tag, it was Carolina (6-8) who haunted the talented corner.
“For us, our challenge all year has been to play a complete game,” Newton said in his postgame press conference. “You know, going into the fourth quarter most of the time with the lead, we had to keep our foot on the gas and stay aggressive.”
Newton completed 21 of 37 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart provided the threat on the ground, amassing 132 yards.
Newton absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit in the second quarter that was not penalized. After taking the blow, he flipped the ball to Washington linebacker Trent Murphy and drew a taunting penalty from referee Walt Coleman’s crew. This is the same group whose no-calls in a Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals prompted Newton to seek a phone conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
But on a night that saw Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins break the single-season franchise record for passing yards, an uneven showing in which he failed to throw a touchdown wasn’t enough. It also didn’t help that Washington was undisciplined at times, with star tight end Jordan Reed landing a punch on Carolina safety Kurt Coleman that disqualified him from the game.
“That’s what we’re capable of,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said after the game. “When we can run the ball and run it successfully, I think we give ourselves a chance to win football games. Stopping the run, I think we took away from their play-action passing. We were able to keep the ball in front of us. We didn’t allow a big ball over the top. We were able to slow this offense down.”
After Washington controlled its fate, the Redskins now need help to make consecutive trips to the playoffs for the first time since 1992.
“Without a choice, we have to shake it off,” Washington coach Jay Gruden said after the game. “We have to move on and look forward to the game (next week) against Chicago. From the outside looking in, obviously the only chance we have to shake it off is to go to Chicago and play our best game of the year. It’s the only chance we have.”
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Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes
PHOTOS: Week 15 NFL action
