This offseason, when Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton set a goal of upping his completion percentage, he didn't necessarily mean improving his sometimes spotty accuracy. It was more about being smarter about where he throws his passes. Sunday in Seattle, when was also an important factor.

Newton's final toss, a perfectly placed ball to wide-open tight end Greg Olsen for a 26-yard score that finally sunk the Seahawks, will be remembered most. But it was the opening play of that final drive that best showed Newton's growth as a quarterback.

“That probably was the biggest play of the game," coach Ron Rivera said Monday.

Trailing 23-20, the Panthers took over at their 20-yard line with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter. On first down, receivers Ted Ginn and Philly Brown lined up to Newton's left with tight end Greg Olsen out on the right. As Ginn sprinted down the sideline, Brown went on a crossing route with tight end Ed Dickson while Olsen ran a deep curl. Feeling pressure while he scanned the field, Newton picked door No. 5: Running back Jonathan Stewart on a simple check-down.

"It was awesome; it was a great start," Olsen said. "It was eight yards, Stew got out of bounds, we still were on the plus side of the two-minute."

Armed with one timeout and the two-minute warning, Newton didn't need to make a big play happen right away. So he didn't even try.

"Going into this game, we knew there were opportunities to be had underneath," he said. "They have exceptional talent on the back end with [Richard] Sherman and [Cary] Williams and those guys. But we just had to capitalize as best as we can to get everybody opportunities.”

After Stewart's 8-yard gain, Newton connected with Ginn for 18 yards, setting the Panthers up near midfield at the two-minute warning.

"That's always a delicate balance for a quarterback on a zone defense," offensive coordinator Mike Shula said about the check-down to Stewart. "'Hey, do I need to hang in there and wait for the guy down the field to come open, or do I just dump it off and make yards with it?'

"When you can make positive yards early in a two-minute drive, that's very helpful."

Perhaps decisions like that should be expected for a guy who's now in his fifth season. But to hear Newton talk about playing smarter this summer and then seeing him do it in a major spot is a big positive for the Panthers.

“Probably not, cause he wants to make the big play," Rivera said when asked if Newton would have made the same, safer throw when he was younger. "He’s learned the big play can be an eight-yarder. That was great. It’s all a part of his growing process.

“He’s got to continue to do those things to give ourselves a chance.’’