After ‘Norv-olution,’ defenses don’t know which direction offense is headed. But Panthers do.

Forget an offensive “evolution.”

The Panthers have a full-on ‘Norv-olution’ occurring in Charlotte. That much proved true after Carolina’s 42-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

And it’s unprecedented.

Under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner, it boils down pretty simply: The Panthers (6-2) have never had this much versatility on the field at one time. Turner is calling plays that maximize each player’s skill set. Quarterback Cam Newton is making decisions that do the same thing.

“It’s kind of neat to see the different group of guys that we have,” coach Ron Rivera said after Sunday’s game. “And to see them all come out and contribute in one way or another. It speaks well to the personnel well that we have here.

“Especially on the offensive side, I think the biggest thing when you look at it is that we use the right kind of guys. Norv, as far as creating things and putting things together, we’re taking advantage of those types of guys and putting them in (the best) position.”

Carolina rattled off a franchise-record 35 first-half points, including five consecutive touchdown drives.

“When it’s clicking, it’s clicking,” Newton said after the game. “As far as the talent level on this team, it’s extremely scary. We possess a lot of different matchups in our favor.”

A mismatch nightmare

About those matchups ...

The Panthers had seven first-half plays of 20-plus yards, and the majority came on misdirection calls.

Because, why be boring, with so much versatility on the roster? For two consecutive weeks, Carolina has played fast and well when utilizing misdirection.

In the first half on Sunday, Newton hit receiver Jarius Wright for a third-down conversion, and with a shimmy of Wright’s shoulders the Panthers were off to the races. Each of the following plays on that drive featured some type of misdirection, motion or play-action fake.

And the drive was capped by another disguise. Fullback Alex Armah, who used to be a defensive end-turned-linebacker, scored on a 1-yard carry that originally lined up as a quarterback sneak.

Then the Panthers doubled down.

To set up the second touchdown, second-year Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey caught a pass from Newton and took it 32 yards, hurdling a defender cleanly in the process. That was a new trick.

And then Newton hit rookie receiver DJ Moore with a reverse, and he carried it like a running back for 32 more yards. McCaffrey-the-running-back scored two plays later on a 4-yard carry.

But it was the third score of the game that made it clear that Turner’s shifty scheme is not to be underestimated.

With Tampa Bay still reeling from the first reverse, Newton and the Panthers set it up again. Newton faked a handoff to McCaffrey, but the ball went to Moore on the reverse.

But then, Carolina reversed it a second time to second-year receiver Curtis Samuel, another receiver/running back type of player.

Tampa Bay was completely unprepared. Carolina had not run the double to that point, so it wasn’t on film.

“They don’t send you a text message and let you know they’re going to run a reverse on the next one,” Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter said a little waspishly after the game. “So that’s just another added dimension and they’re doing a good job with that.”

Samuel ran downfield, but was in danger of outrunning his blockers. He saw the right side open. So he cut through traffic from the left sideline to the right, and trotted in for the score.

On the 33-yard touchdown, he ran 103.3 yards sideline-to-sideline according to NFL NextGen statistics.

“It was amazing,” Samuel said. . “I went down the sideline, looked to my right. Said, ‘Go Curt, go Curt,’ and then I made something happen and I scored ...

“I be running running. ... Shoot, once coach called the play, I said, ‘This play is too sweet for me not to score.’”

Sticking to the plan

In the fourth quarter, after Tampa Bay closed the gap to seven points, misdirection saved Carolina again.

Newton connected with McCaffrey on back-to-back passes for a combined 28 yards. Tampa Bay’s defense began to adjust to track McCaffrey, as they did in the first quarter. So Newton hit the Buccaneers with two play-action fakes to McCaffrey, and as the defense collapsed to contain him Newton stepped back and passed to tight end Greg Olsen for 20 yards.

Then Newton ran for 6 yards, giving Tampa Bay’s defense yet another option to consider.

A McCaffrey run play crowded the line of scrimmage again a few plays later. And on the next, Newton found Samuel in the end zone in a one-on-one matchup, and threw a touchdown strike.

“We have so many playmakers,” McCaffrey said after the game. “I mean, you saw what Curtis did today, what DJ did today, what Greg did today. ... We were playing with momentum. And when you’re playing like that, we have a lot of juice coming our way and it does make it fun.”

Never isolating Cam Newton again

The importance of the Panthers’ offensive scheme under Turner goes a little deeper than just winning games and being exciting.

It’s also a statement to their franchise quarterback, after a sobering wake-up call last winter.

Too often, Newton has had to make magic happen alone. That was especially the case in last year’s wild card playoff loss at New Orleans, when Newton played one of the better games of his career despite not having a viable receiver (other than McCaffrey), and almost mounted a game-winning comeback.

In a game like Week 7’s incredible comeback victory over Philadelphia, Newton once again played one of the best fourth-quarters of his career.

But this time, he had help.

On Sunday, 12 different offensive players touched the ball and Carolina’s four rushing touchdowns came from three different players — none of whom were Newton.

They could have been — but they didn’t have to be.

After hiring Turner in January, Rivera and the Panthers’ staff set about bringing in players who could execute his plan, and got healthy players back. Turner created more layers in the intermediate of the field for Newton in case longer-developing routes weren’t open.

And in recent weeks, they’ve hit the gas with Newton as an added weapon, not as the player holding onto the Panthers’ offense, heels dug in and skidding, as it teetered on the edge of a cliff.

“It’s interesting to go back and thing about that (wild card game),” Rivera said. “I have, to be honest with you. And you’re right. You think about the way (Newton) played in that fourth quarter against Philadelphia, his completion rates, his conversions on third and fourth down and the steady play .... He has carried that over each week the last two weeks. We as a football team have to continue to play to our abilities.”

With Newton playing some of his best football, and all of this versatility, it feels like the Panthers are about to do unprecedented things with their offense.

And Carolina has the play-caller for that, too.