A bottle with the name ”Jordan” on the label – even if it isn’t made by the Saints star’s family – might be the last thing Newton wants right now.Drew Brees and his receiving corps came through when Carolina stifled New Orleans’ prolific backfield DaeSean Hamilton Color Rush Jersey , and a relentless Jordan spearheaded a late defensive stand to seal a 31-26 an NFC wild-card round victory on
Sunday.”You can’t be more happy about the way we played in terms of how we finished the game,” Jordan said. ”We almost let them back in the game, but here I am
standing as winner. Here I am, as a Cam Jordan, sending Cam Newton a bottle of
Jordan wine.”Brees passed for 376 yards and two touchdowns, but one more completion would have considerably lowered the stress level on the Saints’ sideline. Coach Sean
Payton kept the offense on the field on fourth-and-short with two minutes
remaining and Carolina out of timeouts, hoping for one more first down that
would have allowed New Orleans to run out the clock.But Brees couldn’t find an open receiver, was flushed out of the pocket and decided his best option was to throw it up for grabs. It was intercepted by
safety Mike Adams, which turned out better for New Orleans than an incompletion
because it meant the Panthers had to start from their own 31 instead of
mid-field.Still, Newton completed three straight passes to move the Panthers to the Saints 26-yard line with 58 seconds left before New Orleans’ resistance
stiffened.”I’m frustrated Cheap Arden Key Jersey ,” Newton said. ”I hate that I couldn’t do enough to get a win today for a lot of guys that I think so highly of.”I just have to be better,” he added. ”I’m not going to take the cowardly way and point somebody else out.”The comeback bid began to fizzle when Jordan induced an intentional grounding penalty on Newton, making it third-and-25 on the Saints 34 and a requiring
10-second runoff that left 20 seconds on the clock.After an incompletion in the end zone, Vonn Bell sacked Newton on a safety blitz , ensuring the Saints (12-5) swept all three meetings with Carolina (11-6)
this season, in addition to winning the first postseason game they’ve played in
four seasons.”The coaches wanted to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands fast,” Bell said. ”They dialed it up and I said, `Go make a play.”’Brees’ touchdowns went for 80-yards to Ted Ginn and 9 yards to tight end Josh Hill. Fullback Zach line and running back Alvin Kamara each ran for short
touchdowns, the latter set up by Michael Thomas’ 46-yard reception .”What we’ve shown offensively is we have a lot of ways to be effective,” Brees said Jerome Baker Jersey Elite , mentioning clutch first-down catches by Brandon Coleman and Willie Snead in addition to the big plays by Ginn and
Thomas. ”The ball was spread around quite a bit and guys were making plays when
they had the chances.”Thomas caught eight passes for 131 yards on a day when the Saints needed the passing game to compensate for a ground game that struggled to get going. Thomas
said when he noticed the Panthers playing with one safety deep instead of their
usual two, ”you’re licking your chops with a quarterback like Drew Brees and the
talent we have. We knew what we had to do and it was on the receivers.”Ginn, a former Panthers receiver, celebrated the sweep of his former team by holding up a broom in the locker room.MISSED OPPORTUNITIESHelped by the presence of tight end Greg Olsen – who did not play in the teams’ previous two meetings – Newton marched Carolina into Saints territory
more often than not. But the Panthers stalled four times inside the New Orleans
25 in the first three quarters. They settled for four field goal attempts on
those drives, one of which kicker Graham Gano surprisingly missed from
25-yards.Jordan called the Saints’ red-zone stops ”huge.””Had half of those been touchdowns, we’d be sitting in a different spot,” Jordan said.KEY STATSOlsen had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.Newton finished 24 of 40 passing for 349 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard scoring strike to Christian McCaffrey that pulled the Panthers within
a touchdown with 4:09 left.Saints running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, who combined for more than 3,000 yards from scrimmage this season http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jaleel-scott-jersey , were held to 68 total yards.RUSHING THE PASSSERNewton was sacked four times, once each by Bell, Jordan, Jonathan Freeney, and David Onyemata. The sack by Onyemata came as Newton tried to spin away from
Tyeler Davison and slammed his head into Onyemata’s chest. Newton appeared to be
checked for a concussion, but missed only one play before returning to the game
on Carolina’s next possessionNewton sat on the field near the sideline after the play, and while a new NFL rule calls for players to be taken to the locker room to be evaluated for
concussions if they appear to be struggling to stand, Newton said part of his
helmet got pushed into his eyelid. Panthers coach Ron Rivera offered a similar
explanation and added that Newton only sat down to give backup Derek Anderson
more time to warm up.The NFL said it planned to discuss the matter with the Panthers medical staff before commenting further.INJURIESPanthers: Cornerback Dary Ed Croke, the New York Giants‘ former public relations director, died Wednesday. He was 86.The NFL team said Croke died at his home in Jupiter D.J. Fluker Jersey Seahawks , Florida.Croke joined the Giants in 1965 as director of promotions and was public relations from 1972 until retiring in 1993.Before joining the Giants, he was a police reporter and feature news columnist for the Herald Statesman in Yonkers for three years, and sports editor
and columnist for the Reporter Dispatch in White Plains for six years.Croke earned all-league honors in football, basketball and baseball at North Tarrytown High School in New York. He attended Iona College on a basketball
scholarship and lettered for three seasons. He also was a three-year letterman
as a pitcher on the baseball team, and pitched briefly in the North Atlantic
League before entering the U.S. Army..
