SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 4, 2012
Panthers 21, Redskins 13: Cam Newton passed for one touchdown and ran for another and Carolina's defense held Washington rookie Robert Griffin III in check as the visiting Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak.
DeAngelo Williams, who was rumored to be on the trading block leading up to Thursday's deadline, broke a 30-yard touchdown run to give Carolina (2-6) a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, and the Panthers didn't trail again.
The Redskins (3-6) had a chance to close the gap or take the lead before halftime, but they passed up a short field goal and were stopped on fourth down. Carolina answered with a 98-yard touchdown drive - tied for the second-longest in team history - for a 14-3 halftime lead.
Newton capped the long drive with a 19-yard touchdown strike to Steve Smith, and the second-year quarterback added a 1-yard touchdown run with 12:46 left to make it 21-6. Newton finished 13-of-23 for 201 yards and added 37 rushing yards on eight carries.
Washington's defense turned in its best performance of the season, allowing a season-low 330 total yards, but the offense was held to its third-lowest yardage total of the season (337) and did not find the end zone until Evan Royster's first career touchdown run from 2 yards with 1:34 left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Washington RB Alfred Morris rushed for 76 yards on 13 carries. He leads all rookies with 793 rushing yards. … Griffin (529) and Morris became the first rookie quarterback-running back tandem to go over 500 rushing yards each in NFL history. … The Panthers improved to 8-9 under coach Ron Rivera when leading or tied in the fourth quarter.