Panthers played the complementary style they preach

The Panthers held the Cardinals to 169 yards, and were able to set the stage for the new quarterback’s early flair by creating a pair of turnovers and stopping the Cardinals on a fourth-down try in the first quarter alone.

At that point, the conditioned air inside State Farm Stadium was gone, stolen by a Panthers defense intent on asserting itself.

The fact it was pass-rusher Haason Reddick with the strip-sack on quarterback Colt McCoy for the first one added a layer as rich in storyline as anything Newton did. Reddick spent three unsatisfying years in Arizona followed by a breakout that didn’t lead to a new contract, and he admitted that made it more special for him.

“It felt good, real good, I’m not going to lie,” Reddick said. “I’m really happy to come back here and get a W after everything I’ve been through here, everything that happened this offseason. For us to go out and dominate and play a game like that, I’m extremely happy.”

The way the Panthers fed off that was clear, and Reddick said the team’s energy “was just crazy today. Energy was on a different level. It carried over every drive. Even coming out of there through halftime, it just carried over.”

That hasn’t always been the case, and he knows Newton and his megawatt personality is a component.

“Probably a lot now that I think about it,” Reddick replied when asked if that was because of Newton. “After I got the sack, came in and turned it into a touchdown. The team is in really, really high spirits.”

On both sides of the ball.

While it didn’t necessarily match the 47-carry, 203-yard day in Atlanta that Rhule referenced, the Panthers were able to control the game on the ground. They ran 37 times for 166 yards, and made good use of Christian McCaffrey. He had 161 yards from scrimmage on 23 touches, and was able to watch much of the second half safely on the sidelines.

McCaffrey was content to do so, and quick to spread the credit around. He took his turn to talk about his offensive line, starting its seventh combination in 10 games. In addition to running the ball well, the Panthers also didn’t give up a sack for just the second time this season. After a rough start for a patched-together group, they’ve allowed just one sack in the last three games combined.

“I think that what our O-line did today, too, was a massive statement,” McCaffrey said. “I want to give a shoutout to them because they were under a lot of scrutiny. There’s a lot of noise talking about our O-line and disrespecting the way that those guys played and they took that personally and went out there today and played a hell of a game. They’re like the silent assassins. They’re only getting mentioned when something bad happens.

“They’re a lot of strong guys mentally and emotionally who can take all that criticism and continue to fight and continue to work with guys down and injured can step up and play a game like that and dominate like that was awesome.”