First the Panthers blew it on the punt coverage on Denver’s 76-yard punt return for a TD, and then the officials blew it by not making the correct call on the play.

Denver’s Trindon Holliday celebrated his monster return too early, casually tossing the ball aside just before he reached the goal line. The play was supposedly reviewed – all NFL scoring plays now are – but somebody in the booth messed up big-time and didn’t stop the action to more closely observe the play.

In fact, the ball should have gone to the Panthers on the 20, as Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira pointed out on the TV broadcast. Instead, Denver got the TD. The Panthers would have lost this one anyway, but that was a huge play. Referee Al Riveron said after the game that the play had been “confirmed” but I bet the NFL will be issuing a statement that the TD was incorrectly called early this week – not that that’s any consolation to the Panthers.

And they got their own break last week, when DeAngelo Williams’ TD, which should have been overturned, was not.

•  I thought the Panthers’ new all-black uniforms – adding black pants to the usual black jerseys – were pretty cool. When I asked fans on Twitter if they liked them, the response was mostly positive, although many fans said they would also like to add a black helmet. One fan said the jerseys looked “slimming” on the offensive linemen. That was the only positive thing anybody said about the Panthers’ offensive line all day.

•  Peyton Manning threw for 301 yards vs. Carolina, with a touchdown and no interceptions. That translated to a 103.1 QB rating, which actually lowered Manning’s rating for the season. That’s ridiculous. If the Panthers had to play a Manning brother every week, this would be an ugly season.

•  Michael Jordan showed up again to watch the Panthers. His Charlotte Bobcats have as many wins as the Panthers – in four fewer games – and stand a good chance of surpassing Carolina in wins Tuesday against Washington. Who would have thought it?

•  Armanti Edwards returned to our planet and back into more typical form. After an 82-yard catch last week, this time he had one catch for 9 yards and one ball that deflected off his hands into the hands of a Bronco for Newton’s second interception in the closing minutes.