Looks like Bucs fans will have another NFC South quarterback to fear for a long time. Imagine being a team that has to face Matt Ryan and Drew Brees a total of four times every season. Everyone would cringe at the thought. Now throw in the beastly physical specimen that is Cam Newton. The result is a divisional schedule that just became a living nightmare.

Newton and the Panthers put on an absolute clinic in Tampa on Sunday with a 38-19 victory. This would have been a great matchup of two young, athletic quarterbacks going at it, however Josh Freeman was unable to start for the Bucs. He injured his throwing shoulder on the final play of last week’s loss at Tennessee.

Making his fifth career start and taking his place was quarterback Josh Johnson. Johnson had an overall decent day against the Carolina defense. The third year quarterback from San Diego went 16-27, throwing one touchdown on 229 yards passing. He also added 45 yards on the ground. His only glaring mistake came on the first drive of the third quarter.

He was not prepared for the shotgun snap, causing a rushed throw and interception. The day belonged to Cam Newton, however. The number one overall pick in this year’s draft had four total touchdowns. Three of the scores came with his feet, and the final one made history. With a two yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Newton set the all-time record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 13.

He passed former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan in just the 12^th game of his career. Newton was proud of the accomplishment, but would not take all of the praise for himself.“It does mean something to me. I’m not going to sit up here and say it doesn’t mean something. I’m not focusing on individualism in this game.

It’s still 11-on-11. I don’t think I could’ve done anything without those other 10 guys, most importantly the five guys who are blocking their tails off each and every snap.” His first touchdown came on the game’s opening drive, which went 83 yards on seven plays. He concluded it with a high leap across the goal line on 2^nd and goal from the one.

Carolina took a 14-0 lead after Jonathan Stewart had his own one yard touchdown run, which was set up on a 27 yard catch and run by Newton on a double pass. Stewart led the team in rushing with 80 yards on 14 carries. LeGarrette Blount, in contrast, had a miserable day with just 19 yards on 11 attempts for the Bucs.

While the Panthers were getting into the end zone, the Bucs were continuously settling for field goals until it was too late. It was a one possession game after the lead was cut to 14-6, but Newton quickly changed that. He went on to lead an 80 yard drive that concluded with a laser 19 yard touchdown pass to receiver Legedu Naanee.

The drive was Carolina’s 17^th of the season that went at least 80 yards and resulted in a touchdown – the most in the NFL. The Bucs added two more field goals to the Panthers’ one to make the score at halftime 24-12. Newton continued to dominate and added his final two rushing touchdowns in the second half. Meanwhile, Johnson and the Bucs were unable to score anything other than a late touchdown by Dezmon Briscoe.

On a day where Cam Newton did a lot of scoring with his legs, his arm also accounted for 204 yards on 12-21 passing. He continues to develop as a serious matchup problem for opponents on a weekly basis. While the future seems bright in Carolina, things just continue to fall apart for Tampa Bay after a promising 4-2 start. The Bucs suffered their sixth straight loss after falling to the Panthers, and coach Raheem Morris did not hide his frustration following the game.

“I can take getting beat by a better football team. I wish they were. The foolish things that happened in that game, as far as penalties, some of the things that we caused, are just unacceptable. We are not playing like a smart football team right now.” With no realistic shot at the playoffs, the Bucs are left with nothing to play for now except pride and respect.

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In a game of ups and downs and highs and lows, the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) came out victorious over their division rival, the Carolina Panthers (1-5), in Sunday’s NFC South showdown.

Michael Turner led the way for the Falcons, rushing for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. QB Matt Ryan also pitched in, going 14-for-22 for 163 yards and a touchdown.

As for the Panthers’ rookie QB, Cam Newton, the growing pains showed as the young stud threw three interceptions against Atlanta’s unusually staunch defense. Newton went 21-for-35 throwing for 237 yards but had no touchdowns in the game — the first time he’s been held touchdown-less all season.

The game was close for the most part, the Panthers holding a 17-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. But following a Carolina defensive breakdown and an interception thrown on a busted screen pass, the Atlanta Falcons established what would become an insurmountable lead.

At 3-3, Atlanta is trying to re-establish themselves as the dominant team they were so predicted to be. After a rocky start, taking losses to Chicago, Philadelphia and Green Bay, the Falcons will look to get back on track next week against the undefeated Detroit Lions.

As for the Carolina Panthers, the problems continue to build up as they lost their fifth game of the season. They’ve got a chance to get a few wins with games against Washington, Minnesota, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay approaching, but it looks as though they’ll be looking for good picks in this year’s upcoming draft.

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Despite enduring a disappointing start to the regular season, the Carolina Panthers (1-4) travelled to The Georgia Dome with hopes of upsetting the inconsistent Atlanta Falcons (2-3). The Falcons, current NFC South champions, have recorded close fought victories over both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks, and they remained confident of adding the Panthers to the list.

The game started much as expected, with the Falcons utilizing hard-hitting running back Michael Turner to break through the poor rush defense of the Panthers, and tight end Tony Gonzalez offering up the short yardage pass plays for quarterback Matt Ryan.

Contrastingly, the Panthers looked to exploit to the thus far disappointing pass defense of the Falcons, with rookie sensation Cam Newton looking to wide receiver Steve Smith frequently, a relationship which has already provided Smith with more receiving yards in his first five games of the season than he managed in the entire 2010-11 season.

Given the ease at which both of these teams have given up 3^rd down conversions so far this season, it was surprising that the scoreline was just 3-0 to the Panthers following a 47-yard field goal as the 1^st quarter entered its last minute. This was not to last however, and Charles Godfrey was charged with pass interference following a push on receiver Roddy White in the end-zone, an action which resulted in Turner barreling his way over from close range for the TD.

The 2^nd quarter began with the Panthers in possession, and looking eager to learn a lesson from the Falcons, running the ball through DeAngelo Williams, and targeting tight end Jeremy Shockey for short-medium range gains.

The drive proved successful, setting up the Panthers with a 1^st and goal situation, which powerful running back Jonathan Stewart forced his way over from, giving Carolina back the lead.

But the Panthers’ ill discipline was to hurt them yet again, with Chris Gamble calling for pass interference on White in the end-zone, earning the Falcons 1^st and goal, and Ovie Mughelli was on the end of a 1-yard pass to put the Falcons back on top.

With both defenses underperforming, and Newton continuing his recent form, it looked as if the Panthers would extend their lead a minute from the half, as they were camped within the Falcons’ 20-yard line, but William Moore managed to tip the rookie’s pass, and send it into the hands of Brent Grimes, whose interception kept the Falcons ahead as both teams walked off at the interval.

The Falcons newly found defensive proficiency was not to last into the second half however, with Newton leading the Panthers towards the Falcons end-zone with a series of rushes and passes, all culminating in Newton himself running for a 14-yard TD, leaving the score at 17-14 to the visitors.

It seemed as if Head Coach Ron Rivera had a thing or two to say to his team after the 3^rd quarter, and the Panthers defense came out with the Falcons poised at 2^nd and goal. Putting in their performance of the game so far, they held out the Faclons, limiting the home team to just three points, leveling the scores, and setting up an exciting final quarter.

With the Panthers defense continuing to look more solid, a 3^rd and 12 situation in the middle of the field looked as if it would probably end up being punted away, but a pass to Harry Douglas brought Atlanta all the way up to the 13. The Falcons then returned to Turner, who had been exceptional all game long, and the running back rushed for 11 yards, allowing Ryan to go over with the sneak at 1^st and goal.

It looked as if the Panthers were on their way to regaining the lead, after an impressive run from Williams saw the running back break into the Falcons secondary for a big gain, only to see Corey Peters grab an interception on the next play, and return possession to the Falcons for Mike Smith’s men to run out the clock.

With over four minutes left on the clock however, and the marauding Turner being given the ball on almost every play, it was inevitable that Northern Illinois grad would grab another TD and secure the game for Atlanta.

Whilst neither team will be happy with their defensive performance, a couple of interceptions for the Falcons, and two moments of poor discipline in the Panthers secondary ultimately swung this game for Atlanta. And Panthers quarterback Newton will leave the Georgia Dome frustrated by his team’s defense, who have yet again lost the visitors a game which they will feel they could have won, the final score 31-17 to the Falcons.

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