By Hal Bent
The New England Patriots faced off on Monday night against the Carolina Panthers in a rare prime-time time slot for Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. New England’s veteran quarterback Tom Brady has the experience on the Monday night stage over the past decade plus of his career. On a warm evening in Charlotte, NC, the Patriotsand Panthers wrapped up week eleven of the NFL season with two high-quality playoff-caliber teams locked in battle with the entire nation watching.
On their opening drive after stopping Carolina on a three-and-out to open the game, quarterback Tom Brady attacked the Carolina zone defense mixing runs with short passes. However, the drive ended when New England’s offensive line blew a coverage rotation and allowed Carolina defensive end Greg Hardy free access unblocked to Brady to stall the drive.
On their second drive, the Patriots went on a long drive converting a fourth-and-two at the Carolina 35. However, inside the fifteen yard line running back Stevan Ridleycoughed up the ball and the Panthers recovered. By the time new England got the ball back they were trailing 10-0 and had less than four minutes to play in the half. Again the Patriots offense self-destructed, this time a fifteen yard unnecessary roughness penalty on guard Logan Mankins stalling the drive and forcing a field goal attempt to make it 10-3 Carolina at halftime.
Early in the game, the Patriots offense nixed strong drives against the resilient Carolina defense with stupid penalties, mental mistakes, and turnovers...CLICK HERE FOR MORE: http://cover32.com/patriots/2013/11/19/patriots-vs-panther-recap/
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