Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton led a pair of field-goal drives in his NFL debut, and Jimmy Clausen threw a touchdown pass to Greg Olsen to help Carolina beat the New York Giants.
Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn and top overall pick in the NFL draft, struggled with his accuracy and twice failed to get the Panthers into the end zone on promising first-half drives.
Newton completed 8 of 19 throws for 134 yards, including a pair of completions of at least 30 yards. He entered the game to loud cheers on Carolina’s first drive of the second quarter and left early in the fourth.
It was a forgettable night for New York’s offense, which never reached the end zone. Lawrence Tynes missed two field goals and had another blocked in the fourth.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning didn’t lead a scoring drive in his five series, completing 4 of 9 passes for just 36 yards. He also slightly overthrew Hakeem Nicks on what could’ve been a big third-down gain on his first possession, forcing Tynes to try a 56-yard field goal.
Nothing too surprising in this one. Carolina has to be happy that new acquisition Olsen found the end zone. Olsen will have a hard time being a TE1 in Carolina, but he's worthy of a roster spot if you have the space to carry two tight ends.
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