There is always plenty to hate about NFL officiating, so we will only focus

Plays to Love http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/c.j.-anderson-jersey-authentic , Plays to Hate (aka “P2L, P2H”) looks at the most significant plays in swinging momentum and impacting the eventual outcome of the game. on the plays on the field, not the refs.Three Two plays to love1st Quarter 11:19 – Panthers 0, Steelers 0. Panthers ball 4th-and-1 at PIT 22The Situation: The Panthers had taken the opening possession down to the Pittsburgh 22 and faced 4th-and-1.The Play: Ron Rivera could have taken the field goal to get three points on the opening drive, but instead he chose to be aggressive and went for it. Christian McCaffrey picked up two yards for the first down to extend the drive. On the very next play, CMC took a short pass 20-yards to the house for an early 7-0 Panthers lead. 2nd Quarter 7:35 – Panthers 7, Steelers 24. Panthers ball 3rd-and-4 at CAR 46The Situation: The wheels fell off early and the Panthers found themselves down 24-7 midway through the second quarter. Facing 3rd-and-4 from near midfield, the Panthers desperately needed a first down. The Play: Jarius Wright did what he has done all season - convert a big third down. Wright’s numbers aren’t flashy but he is the Panthers wide receiver I trust the most to make a clutch play to move the sticks. This drive ended with another CMC touchdown to trim the Steelers lead to 24-14, giving Panthers fans a least a glimmer of false hope. Three plays to hate1st Quarter 10:29 – Panthers 7, Steelers 0. Steelers ball 1st-and-10 at PIT 25The Situation: After the Panthers opened the game with a touchdown, the Steelers offense took the field for their first play of the game. The Play: James Bradberry got absolutely smoked by JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 75-yard touchdown on Pittsburgh’s first play from scrimmage. All of the momentum from Carolina’s opening drive score evaporated in an instant. 1st Quarter 10:13 – Panthers 7, Steelers 7. Panthers ball 1st-and-10 at CAR 12The Situation: After Smith-Schuster’s score, Jermaine Carter was flagged for a hold on the kick return, forcing the Panthers to start their drive at the 12 yard line.The Play: On Carolina’s first offensive play following Pittsburgh’s one-play score, Cam threw a back-breaker of a pick-six. In a poor play design by Norv Turner, T.J. Watt came completely untouched off the edge and was immediately in Cam Newton’s face after play action. Cam retreated to the end zone and instead of taking a sack for a safety he made a terrible decision to force a throw over the middle. The errant pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The Panthers 7-0 lead was turned into a 14-7 deficit in the matter of 18 seconds. Carolina never recovered.3rd Quarter 1:23 – Panthers 14, Steelers 38. Steelers ball 3rd-and-8 at CAR 32The Situation: The Steelers had a 24-point lead and were driving with the third quarter coming to a close. The game was already over at this point.The Play: Ben Roethlisburger scrambled for a first down on 3rd-and-8 and went into a traditional quarterback slide http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/wes-horton-jersey-authentic , giving himself up to the defense. Eric Reid came in at full speed and dove shoulder first at Big Ben’s head. Reid’s shoulder made direct contact with Ben’s helmet, causing his head to snap back and hit the turf. The cheap shot started an on-field skirmish and resulted in Reid being ejected from the game. The Panthers gutless performance was bad enough, but watching Reid go headhunting in a blowout was flat out embarrassing. As Panthers fans we rightfully get livid when Cam is on the receiving end of these types of cheap shots and it would be hypocritical to not call out Eric Reid for this completely unnecessary dirty play. Closing it out and summing it upThis loss was as brutal of a Panthers defeat as I can remember. Why do they always embarrass themselves so spectacularly on national TV? The offensive line got completely exposed. Chris Clark channeled his inner Byron Bell in this one. On defense, I’m starting to seriously wonder if Eric Washington is up for the job. The individual pieces are there are a good (not great) defense, but this unit is seriously struggling right now. I absolutely hated the decision early in the second quarter to RUSH JUST TWO LINEMEN on 3rd-and-2. Big Ben stood in the pocket like a statue as five Steelers linemen manhandled the two Panthers rushers. After what seemed like an eternity, Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a 33-yard gain because it’s impossible to cover him for that long. I also hated Rivera’s decision to keep playing Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, and other starters late into the fourth quarter. With the Panthers trailing 52-14 with less than six minutes left, Rivera chose to expose his franchise cornerstones to completely unnecessary injury risks. That was dumb. But in the end, a loss is a loss. Yes, this was a humiliating and public defeat, but the Panthers are still 6-3 and will have a couple of extra days to prepare for the Detroit Lions in Week 11. That’s the only good news to be found. Plays to love season leaders3 - Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, James Bradberry2 - Efe Obada, Kyle Love, Torrey Smith, 1 - Ben Jacobs Womens Taylor Moton Jersey , Colin Jones, David Mayo, Devin Funchess, Donte Jackson, Eric Reid, Graham Gano, Greg Olsen, Jarius Wright, Julius Peppers, Kawann Short, Mario Addison, Norv Turner, Ron Rivera, Taylor Heinicke, Wes HortonPlays to hate season leaders4 -Eric Reid, Mike Adams3 - Cam Newton2 - Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Dontari Poe http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/daryl-williams-jersey-authentic , Eric Washington1 - Amini Silatolu, C.J. Anderson, Captain Munnerlyn, Colin Jones, Devin Funchess, Donte Jackson, Ian Thomas, James Bradberry, Luke Kuechly, Norv Turner, Ron Rivera, Thomas Davis, Trai Turner The Panthers played a complete game of football today. Here’s the people who made it happen.Cam NewtonNewton completed 21 of 29 passes for 2 touchdowns, coupled with 10 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. This was a classic example of Newton taking over a game and being utterly dominant for 4 quarters. Watch out NFL, Cam is ON again.DJ MooreThis could be an introduction for Moore. 5 catches for 90 yards and 2 rushes for 39 yards today, as Moore showed what kind of player he can be as a featured weapon for this offense. He runs with such aggression and resolve, making it difficult for many defensive backs to bring him down. He showcased a first round pedigree today.Christian McCaffreyCMC is involved every week, but today we saw the evolution of his role in this offense. They lined him up in the slot and split him out wide Womens Christian McCaffrey Jersey , allowing CJ Anderson to be more involved in this offense. McCaffrey scored a touchdown and consistently gave Newton an option to move the chains. Today was one of the better examples of what kind of special weapon McCaffrey is.Donte JacksonJackson was tasked with covering speedster John Brown today, and boy did he deliver. Several broken up passes, a sack on Joe Flacco, and that scrappy fire he brings really helped keep this defense aggressive. Keep it up, D-Jax.Mike Adams + Captain MunnerlynRon Rivera loves to talk about the veteran presence on both sides of the ball. Today, his thoughts made sense, as Adams and Munnerlyn both came up with key interceptions to give the offense more chances to pile on points.Michael PalardyThis dude is a Pro Bowl caliber punter. Week in and week out, he drops the punts inside the 20, and often keeps teams inside their own five with the help of gunners like Curtis Samuel. This dude is way underrated as a punter, as he continues to put this defense in favorable field position.Ron RiveraFor weeks we have criticized Ron for being overly conservative, and playing not to lose rather than being aggressive and playing to win, by allowing his offense to move the ball. We believe he has heard our prayers here at CSR, as Ron never let off the gas, turned Cam loose, and truly twisted the knife against a very solid team. They didn’t stop pushing for yards on offense and scored a 30 burger against one of the league’s best defenses. I’m not sure if Ron will continue to do this, but today he made the best of the talent at his disposal.There are no losers today. The Panthers blew the Ravens away on all cylinders, and the coaches finally seem to understand what kind of team this can be.