Kaelin Clay, sluggish Carolina Panthers get past New York Jets 35-27

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. If they wanted to prove their offense had turned the corner with a blowout, record-setting win against Miami in Week 10, the Carolina Panthers had a funny way of showing it in Sunday’s 35-27 victory over the New York Jets.

Carolina struggled to find any sort of rhythm through most of the game other than a 1-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Cam Newton in the second quarter. After that 86-yard scoring drive, the Panthers managed only 83 yards of offense on their next eight drives.

In fact, Carolina ended the second quarter and began the third with three drives that amounted to just 10 yards, converted only two first downs and drew two penalties.

The Panthers were held to 17 first downs and 299 total yards, and were 3-of-14 on third down for the game.

“It wasn’t a blockbuster outing for us offensively,” Newton, who was 11 of 28 for 168 yards passing, said.

Carolina did score its first defensive touchdown since 2016 against Arizona, and its first punt return for a touchdown since 2014.

But with the high-powered New Orleans Saints on the horizon, Carolina needs to find the offensive flash they showed two weeks ago, and hang on for dear life.

The Panthers (8-3) face the Saints, who fell to 8-3 with a loss to the Los Angels Rams, on Sunday in New Orleans. The game kicks off at 4:25 p.m.

The Jets fell to 4-7.

Three who mattered

Luke Kuechly: With the Jets up 20-18 and 12:58 to play, Panthers defensive end Wes Horton sacked quarterback Josh McCown and forced a fumble, which Kuechly scooped up and ran for 34 yards into the end zone. Newton scored on the following 2-point conversion with a flip over two defenders into the end zone.

Kaelin Clay: Clay scored Carolina’s first punt return for a touchdown since Oct. 5, 2014 in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, which put the Panthers up 32-20 and all but sealed the game.

Robby Anderson: Anderson made an incredible 33-yard catch late in the second quarter to keep the Jets in the game. He held on to the ball between heavy coverage from safety Mike Adams and cornerback James Bradberry for the score. Anderson also scored a 54-yard touchdown in the third quarter, giving the Jets their first lead of the day (17-12 with 5:41 left in the period). After, he pretended to lay down and take a nap on the ball in the end zone.

Observations

▪  On the Jets’ first drive in the first quarter, tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins got behind corner James Bradberry and was wide open in the end zone, but dropped the would-be touchdown pass from quarterback Josh McCown. Another Panthers break came again at the cost of Seferian-Jenkins, after a fourth-quarter touchdown catch was overruled.

▪ Tight end Greg Olsen started in his first game back after spending eight weeks on injured reserve after breaking his foot in Week 2. Olsen’s first catch was on the second snap of the game on second and 6, and was a 10-yard catch for a first down.

Olsen, who normally plays almost every offensive snap, was limited on Sunday as the team tries to bring him back at a comfortable pace. He played 20 of 36 first-half snaps, and was the target of an overthrown touchdown pass attempt. Olsen was overthrown twice in the first half, catching one pass on four targets.

Olsen left the game in the third quarter after re-aggravating his surgically repaired foot.

▪  Carolina couldn’t get much going in the run game, but Jonathan Stewart’s third-quarter touchdown broke an offensive drought and gave the Panthers back their lead, 18-17, with 4:29 left in the period.

▪  The Jets took back their lead in the fourth quarter, after safety Kurt Coleman and corner Daryl Worley both missed tackles on a 42-yard catch-and-run by Jermaine Kearse that set up a field goal.

▪  Kicker Graham Gano missed an extra point after Newton’s second-quarter rushing touchdown. It was his second missed extra point this season. Gano has missed only one field goal so far this season, against Detroit in Week 5.

▪  Christian McCaffrey broke off a 40-yard run in the second quarter after finding a nice hole between center Tyler Larsen and guard Andrew Norwell. It was his longest run of the season and set up a field goal that put the Panthers ahead 12-3.

▪  The Panthers finshed with 145 rushing yards, aided by the 40-yard run by McCaffrey and a 29-yarder by Clay.

▪  In the third quarter, defensive end Mario Addison sacked Jets quarterback Josh McCown to tie teammate Julius Peppers as the Panthers’ sack leader this season (7.5). Peppers later retook the lead with a sack of his own.

Worth mentioning

▪  Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil was activated on Sunday after missing eight games with a neck injury. Larsen started in place of Kalil, as the team wants to bring him back slowly. Kalil tried to come back in Week 7 against Chicago, but re-aggravated the injury and had to leave after the first quarter.

▪  The Panthers’ inactives were quarterback Garrett Gilbert, cornerback LaDarius Gunter, fullback Alex Armah, cornerback Captain Munnerlyn (illness), linebacker Andrew Gachkar, tackle John Theus and defensive end Bryan Cox Jr.

▪  Rookie safety Jamal Adams had plenty to say to Newton throughout the game. First, Adams walked up to Newton during his “Superman” celebration following his second-quarter touchdown and a little extracurricular activity ensued. Then, after a Newton keeper and slide in front of Adams, the latter appeared to be jawing to Newton again.

▪  The Panthers got the ball back three times with 6:10 left in the second quarter, but only managed to score three points on two full drives (with their third drive lasting three plays before the half ended).

This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Kaelin Clay, sluggish Carolina Panthers get past New York Jets 35-27."