Carolina kicker Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal in the closing seconds on Thursday night to help seal a 21-20 victory for the Denver Broncos over the visiting Panthers in a Super Bowl 50 rematch that kicked off the NFL regular season at Mile Hile Stadium.
The Broncos had trailed 17-7 at halftime as they turned the ball over three times on a fumble and two interceptions thrown by second year quarterback Trevor Siemian in the opening half of play.
A 25 yard touchdown pass from Siemian to running back CJ Anderson cut the lead to 17-14 in the fourth quarter. After a Cam Newton interception and a converted fourth down in the red zone, the Broncos handed the ball off to Anderson, who found paydirt again from one yard out to put Denver ahead for the first time 21-17.
After a Gano 36 yard kick cut the lead to 21-20, and a three and out by the Denver offense, the Panthers had one more chance. The Broncos had the Panthers in a fourth and 21 with two minutes left, but a hands to the face infraction gave Carolina an automatic first down. After a six yard pass to receiver Calvin Benjamin, Gano would be in position to win the game. Gano first attempt was good, but Denver had called a timeout to freeze the kicker. The second attempt sailed wide left and the Broncos came away with the win.
Siemian finished 18/26 for 178 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Anderson rushed 20 times for 92 yards and a touchdown and also caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Andy Janovich, a rookie fullback from Nebraska, produced the other Denver touchdown with a 28 yard run in the second quarter. Emmanuel Sanders led the receiving core with five receptions for 49 yards while Demaryius Thomas had four grabs for 48 yards. Todd Davis had a half a sack and six tackles while Brandon Marshall had six tackles as well for the Denver defense. Demarcus Ware had 1.5 sacks and Von Miller had the other one on Newton on the night.
Newton finished 18/33 for 194 yards with a touchdown and an interception for 0-1 Carolina. Jonathan Stewart rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries, while Newton added 54 yards on 11 rushes. Benjamin had 91 yards receiving on six catches and a touchdown, while tightend Greg Olsen caught seven balls for 73 yards. Luke Kuechley led the Panthers defense with 10 tackles. Vernon Butler and Tre Boston both had a quarterback sack on Siemian.
Both teams return to play on Sunday, September 18th. Carolina returns home and will host San Francisco at 1 pm, while Denver stays home and will play Indianapolis at 4:25 p.m.
CAR(0-1) 7 10 0 3- 20
DEN(1-0) 0 7 0 14- 21
First downs- Carolina 21 Denver 21
Total yards- Carolina 333 Denver 307
Turnovers- Carolina 1 Denver 3
Time of Possession- Carolina 32:19 Denver 27:41
Penalties/Yards- Carolina 8/85 Denver 4/22
