Six short stories from the Panthers’ 30-20 win Sunday against the Cardinals.

1. Return of the Sack

 

 

When the Panthers and Cardinals met in the NFC title game, Carolina took a 24/7 lead into the half.

Nine months later, it happened again.

And like they did in January, the defense set the tone by rattling quarterback Carson Palmer early.

“It seemed like the NFC Championship Game all over again,” tight end Greg Olsen said. “Our D-line was all over him from the jump.”

The Panthers first got to Palmer on the sixth play from scrimmage, when defensive tackle Star Lotulelei assisted on linebacker Thomas Davis’s first career touchdown. That was on 3rd-and-six.

On the Cardinals’ next drive, linebacker Luke Kuechly sacked Palmer on 3rd-and-10. A drive later, defensive end Mario Addison forced an intentional grounding that gave Arizona a 3rd-and-31.

The Panthers ended up sacking Palmer eight times, the highest total of his career and the second-most in Carolina history.

What may be most impressive from the resurgent pass rush is how the eight sacks were distributed:

• Defensive tackles — 4 (Star Lotulelei, career-high 3; Kawann Short, 1)
• Defensive ends — 1 (Charles Johnson)
• Linebackers — 1 (Kuechly)
• Cornerbacks — 2 (Daryl Worley, Leonard Johnson)

 

“I thought (defensive coordinator) Sean McDermott mixed it up very nicely and did the things we needed to do to give ourselves the chance to get after the quarterback,” coach Ron Rivera said.

Added Johnson:

“It’s a game-changer. Any time you can get sacks on a quarterback, get pressure on him, especially on third-down situations, it can change the game. So hopefully we can keep this trending topic going.”