Brian Burns starred again, but a teammate helped make his big night happen

[Sir Purr]

Obada alerted Burns (as you can see in the video) and occupied the guard and tackle, allowing Burns to loop behind his fellow rusher and take a direct path to Stidham. By the time the guard realized what was happening, it was too late. Down the rookie quarterback went for an 8-yard loss. New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski then proceeded to miss a 43-yard field goal attempt.


But something was missing. Burns has quickly become known for his Spider-Man sack celebrations, yet he didn’t bust them out on either occasion Thursday night.


“Nah,” he said. “I’m saving them for a big, big, big play.”


Fair enough.


Head coach Ron Rivera believes those big plays will come, especially if the first-round edge rusher learns from the mistakes we may not necessarily notice.


“There's a couple things that he has to understand and he may have made a few more plays,” Rivera said. “I think he can be an even more effective player for us.”


That’s exciting to think about, because through three games, Burns has provided the pass-rushing pop the Panthers were hoping for when the drafted him 16th overall.


In Burns’ mind, could his first preseason be going any better?


“Um, yeah, if I would have got Tom Brady,” Burns said. “That would have made it better.”