Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
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GLENDALE, Ariz. – The looks on their faces said it all.
A mix of joy, relief and utter satisfaction after a job well done.
For a team that had lost seven of their last eight to close the 2018 regular season and started 0-2 in 2019 with their franchise quarterback ailing, Sunday’s 38-20 road win over the Arizona Cardinals was desperately needed.
“We just had to catch our breath,” said tight end Greg Olsen, who had two touchdown catches in the win. “The season obviously didn’t get off to the best start, we knew that. We were up front about that and we just had to get a win.
“To go on the road with a young quarterback, having not won all season, to just get in the win column and now hopefully stretch a few together, it’s just great to get that monkey off your back.”
The Panthers were backed into a corner. Frustration was mounting after two games that were there for the taking resulted in frustrating one-score losses.
Backup quarterback Kyle Allen was called into action for just his second career start after Cam Newton re-aggravated the foot that was injured during the preseason. And after two home losses, the Panthers had to travel out west to a hostile environment.
“I told the team, ‘Think about how sweet that flight home is going to be with a W,” defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said.
They honestly would have taken a win however they could have gotten it. But the Panthers did it in style, with Allen tossing four touchdowns and boasting a 144.4 passer rating (the highest since Cam Newton’s 153.3 against Atlanta in 2015) while the defense recorded eight sacks and two interceptions.
“Well it’s good, that’s for doggone sure,” Rivera said in his opening postgame remarks. “I thought the guys came out and responded.
“We gave them a little time after the Thursday game to get away and we brought them back on Tuesday, and I just liked the way they practiced Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I really did. I thought they responded very well to that whole thing, so just how they handled it is really important and I thought they handled it very well.”