The Series: With the 16-10 victory, Carolina defeated Jacksonville for the second time in five all-time meetings between the two 1995 expansion teams. All three games at Bank of America Stadium have been decided by six points or less.
For Starters: Jason Williams opened at weakside linebacker and James Anderson moved to strongside linebacker with Thomas Davis going on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (9/20/11). It marked Williams' third career start after making two starts at weakside linebacker for Carolina in 2010 before being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury (12/14/10). Anderson made 15 starts at strongside linebacker in 2010 and finished second on the team with a career-high 154 tackles.
Jordan Pugh started at strong safety in place of Charles Godfrey, who was inactive with a concussion. Pugh previously started two games as a rookie in 2010, making one start at free safety and another as an extra defensive back in a dime defense.
Offensively, right tackle Jeff Otah returned to the lineup after being inactive with a concussion versus Green Bay (9/18/11).
Rookie QBs On Display: 2011 first-round draft choices Cam Newton, selected first overall by the Panthers, and Blaine Gabbert, chosen 10th overall by the Jaguars, became the first pair of first-round quarterbacks to play against each other as rookies since Matt Leinart of the Arizona Cardinals faced Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos in 2006.
Newton By Air: Rookie quarterback Cam Newton completed 18-of-34 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions to produce a 75.4 quarterback rating. He threw a 16-yard touchdown to tight end Greg Olsen in the fourth quarter.
Newton engineered his first career game-winning drive (defined as a drive that puts the team ahead for good in the fourth quarter or overtime), directing the Panthers 55 yards on five plays in 2:24. During the game-winning possession, he completed all three of his pass attempts for 47 yards and scrambled once for seven yards, capped by the 16-yard touchdown pass to Olsen.
In three games this season, Newton has completed 70-of-117 passes for 1,012 yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions to compile an 85.1 quarterback rating.
Newton By Ground: Quarterback Cam Newton gained 27 yards rushing on seven attempts. He leads the Panthers with 98 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries this season.
Stewart Carries The Load: Running back Jonathan Stewart rushed for a team-high 59 yards on 10 carries and added three receptions for 26 yards. He ranks second on the Panthers in both rushing and receiving this season with 90 yards on 23 attempts and 13 catches for 140 yards.
The fourth-year running back is second in team history with 22 rushing touchdowns, 4.67-yard rushing average and nine games with 100 or more rushing yards. Stewart also stands third with 2,829 rushing yards and fourth with 606 rushing attempts.
Greg Gets It: Tight end Greg Olsen paced the Panthers with seven receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown. He scored the game-winning touchdown on a 16-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter. Olsen stands third on the team with 12 catches for 169 yards and one touchdown this season.
Two For One: Tight end Greg Olsen caught a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Cam Newton following his 16-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. It marked Carolina's first successful two-point conversion attempt since running back DeAngelo Williams ran for one versus Miami (11/19/09).
Streaking: Tight end Jeremy Shockey and wide receiver Steve Smith extended their consecutive game streaks with a catch. Shockey finished the game with three receptions for 30 yards and has caught a pass in all 124 regular season games he has played. Smith, who made two grabs for 15 yards, has posted a catch in 62 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in team history behind Wesley Walls' 70 games from 1996-2001 and his own 68 games from 2002-06.
Jungle Net: The Panthers held the Jaguars to minus-one yard of offense in the first quarter and a total of 257 for the game. Carolina limited Jacksonville to 129 net yards passing, the fewest given up through the air since yielding a team-record 29 versus Chicago (10/10/10).
The stingy defense surrendered only 10 points, the fewest since giving up 10 versus New Orleans (1/3/10). The Panthers allowed just four passing first downs, the fourth fewest in team history, previously accomplished twice - most recently versus Detroit (12/21/03). The defensive unit held the Jaguars to a 21 percent third-down conversion rate as Jacksonville converted just 3-of-14 opportunities.
Safety Dance: Defensive end Greg Hardy sacked Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the end zone for a safety in the first quarter. It represented Carolina's first safety since Hardy blocked a Matt Dodge punt out of the end zone at the New York Giants (9/12/10). The Panthers have recorded six safeties in franchise history, and Hardy ranks first with two.
Sakrete Sacks: The Panthers collected two sacks against the Jaguars. Defensive end Greg Hardy tripped up Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the end zone for a seven-yard loss that resulted in a safety in the first quarter. Hardy ranks second on the team with two sacks this year.
Defensive end Charles Johnson gathered a sack for the third consecutive game, dropping Gabbert for a three-yard loss in the first quarter. He leads Carolina with three sacks this year after producing a team- and career-high 11.5 sacks in 2010. Dating back to last season, Johnson has registered a sack in nine of his last 10 games and in five consecutive games against AFC opponents.
During the 2011 season, Sakrete, a leader in concrete and concrete-related products, is donating $100 to the BVC Playground Build for every sack Carolina records. Through three games, the Panthers have gathered five sacks, raising $500.
Takeaway/Giveaway: Carolina forced one turnover on an interception. Safety Sherrod Martin swiped a pass by Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the second quarter and returned it 15 yards. The Panthers did not commit any turnovers - their first error-free game since the final game of the 2009 season at New Orleans (1/3/10) - to finish with a plus-one turnover ratio. The one takeaway resulted in no points for Carolina. The Panthers have a negative-two turnover ratio this season, compiling a 1-0 record when having a positive turnover margin, an 0-1 record when being even in turnover margin, and an 0-1 record when having a negative turnover margin.
Mare Kicks Up The Charts: Olindo Mare scored six points against Jacksonville to move into 18th place in NFL history for points scored with 1,440, bettering the 1,439 totaled by Jim Turner from 1964-79. He connected on both of his field goal attempts - converting from 35 and 32 yards. Mare also ranks 17th in NFL history with 333 made field goals. He has been successful on all five of his field goal attempts and perfect on all five of his extra point opportunities for a team-leading 20 points this season.
Mare placed all four of his kickoffs in the end zone with two touchbacks, helping limit the Jaguars to an average kickoff drive start of their own 23-yard line. He has placed 10-of-14 kickoffs in the end zone with seven touchbacks this season. Since 1997, Mare leads the NFL with 245 touchbacks.
Baker's Treat: Punter Jason Baker generated a gross average of 38.4 yards and net average of 31.1 yards with two inside the 20, three touchbacks and long of 51 yards on eight punts. He tied the team record for the most touchbacks in a game with three, previously accomplished four times - most recently by Baker versus St. Louis (11/19/06). Despite the three touchbacks, Baker's net average increased to 29.1 yards, but his gross average fell to 39.5 yards with five punts inside the 20, four touchbacks and long of 56 yards this season.
Inactives: The following seven players were inactive for the Panthers: quarterback Jimmy Clausen, safety Charles Godfrey, tight end Ben Hartsock, defensive tackle Frank Kearse, linebacker Jason Phillips, wide receiver Kealoha Pilares and tackle Lee Ziemba.
Seeing Spots: Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee made a 53-yard field goal to equal the third-longest field goal by an opponent, previously accomplished four times - most recently by Robbie Gould for Chicago (10/10/10)...Jacksonville tied the record for the most fumbles in a game by an opponent with five, (although they lost none) previously accomplished five times - most recently by Tampa Bay (10/18/09).
