CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A few thoughts on the Carolina Panthers' 19-17 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium:
What it means: It wasn’t pretty thanks to familiar struggles in the red zone. But after a tumultuous week in which starting quarterback Cam Newton was in a Tuesday car crash that sidelined him for at least one game, the Panthers took care of business to remain in position to win the NFC South title. That the Atlanta Falcons lost to Pittsburgh left the Panthers (5-8-1) percentage points ahead of the Falcons (5-9). A New Orleans Saints loss at Chicago on Monday night would put Carolina alone in the division lead. The Panthers still likely need to win their final two games against Cleveland and Atlanta, and New Orleans has to lose at least one of its final three for any of this to make a difference. But with the defense playing well and the potential return of Newton next week, Carolina amazingly still has hope.
Stock watch: The Panthers can win without Newton -- as long as it's against Tampa Bay. Derek Anderson beat the Buccaneers for the second time this season. As in the opener when Newton was recovering from fractured ribs, Anderson was efficient, completing 25 of 40 pass attempts for 277 yards and one touchdown. He was lucky not to be intercepted twice in the second half. One was negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty. The other was dropped. As good as Anderson at times looked with precision passing, he struggled in the red zone. If Newton is healthy enough to return, he's still Carolina's best option.
Stock watch II: Tight end Greg Olsen continued his push to make the Pro Bowl. He caught 10 passes for 110 yards, seven for 76 in the first half. He was like Anderson’s security blanket, although a few times Anderson forced it to Olsen when he shouldn't have.
Wild card: The red zone once again was the dead zone for Carolina, which was held to two first-half field goals inside the 20. On the first attempt the Panthers had two false starts and a fumble that Anderson recovered. On the second, Anderson had three straight incompletions. Anderson was 1-for-7 passing in the red zone in the first half. He was 13-for-17 in the half outside the 20. On Carolina's first red zone trip in the second half, Jonathan Stewart lost a fumble on second-and-1 at the 3.
Game ball: The easy pick might be Anderson or Olsen, who racked up big numbers. But I'm going with defensive end Charles Johnson. He had three tackles for loss and was part of a third-quarter sack that turned into a fumble and set up the go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter.
What’s next: The Panthers face the Cleveland Browns (7-7) at Bank of America Stadium next Sunday.
