BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM (74,455) / NOVEMBER 18, 2013 • 8:40 PM / PANTHERS.COM NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (7-2) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-3) PANTHERS HOST MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME VS. NEW ENGLAND For the second straight week, Carolina faces one of the NFL’s elite Lotulelei and Short have been primary reasons in the Panthers teams coming off a bye when the Panthers host the New England improvement in the rush defense this season as Carolina ranks Patriots on Monday Night Football at Bank of America Stadium. Last second against the run. week worked in Carolina’s favor when they defeated San Francisco “It has been a good combination of veteran leadership and some 10-9, thanks to a stout defense and timely offense and special young guys coming in and playing well,” says Rivera. teams, for a fifth straight win. There is more experience on offense, but the key component is quar- However, the upcoming challenge is even greater as the Panthers terback Cam Newton, who has thrown 13 touchdowns and rushed for face a New England team that is coming off of a 55-point effort in four more. In last week’s defensive contest at San Francisco, Newton their most recent victory over Pittsburgh. completed 16 of 32 passes for 169 yards with an interception. It was “They have a one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game, only his third interception in Carolina’s five-game winning streak a great coach, and now they are getting some players back. It is a compared to seven touchdowns. tremendous challenge for our football team,” says head coach Ron Veterans Steve Smith at wide receiver and Greg Olsen at tight end Rivera. have been his favorite targets and Smith again led the Panthers While the Patriots have created their current legacy with five Super with catches last week with six for 63 yards. Olsen’s 35 catches rank Bowl appearances and three titles, the Panthers are in a youthful behind only Smith’s 42. stage that features a second-year linebacker and a third-year quar- However, the difference makers against the 49ers were receiver/ terback playing the pivotal roles on each side of the ball. return specialist Ted Ginn, Jr., and running back DeAngelo Williams. Keying a defense that is ranked second in the League in yards and In a game where yards were at a premium, Ginn returned three punts points allowed is linebacker Luke Kuechly, last year’s NFL Defensive for 65 yards and two kickoffs for 42 yards plus making a drive- Rookie of the Year. Kuechly was outstanding last week when he led sustaining third down reception while Williams scored the game’s the Panthers defensive unit in tackles with 13 while adding a sack only touchdown with a 27-yard run. as Carolina held a San Francisco offense that had scored over 31 The Panthers continue to play behind a revamped offensive line that points five games in a row to three field goals. is now on its sixth’s starting guard as converted defensive lineman Adding strong support was fellow linebacker Thomas Davis, who Nate Chandler made his first NFL start at right guard last week. added four tackles and caused a crucial fumble. Kuechly and Davis In spite of the changes, Carolina still ranks 10th in rushing in the are one-two in tackles for the Panthers with 90 and 83, respectively League. and form the heart of a defense that also features the pass rushing In the end, it was kicker Graham Gano who made the difference at combination of Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy and a secondary San Francisco with a 53-yard field goal, his 13th field goal conver- whose sum has been greater than the individual parts after injuries sion against only one miss. took away its most experienced player. Johnson had 1.5 of Carolina’s six sacks against San Francisco to MAINTAINING CONTROL raise his season total to 8.5. Hardy has five sacks for the season The Panthers offense has controlled the ball this season, ranking in their bid to become the first Panthers duo to ever record back- first in the NFL in time of possession, second in drives of 5-plus min- to-back double digit sack seasons. The Panthers also benefitted by utes and tied for seventh in 10-play drives. pressure from Dwan Edwards (two sacks), safety Mike Mitchell (1/2 sack), and rookie linebacker A.J. Klein (one sack). The Panthers are averaging 33:48 time of possession per game. Klein was one of three rookies to start at San Francisco as regular NFL TEAM LEADERS, TIME OF POSSESSION, 2013 starter Chase Blackburn was slowed with a foot injury and responded Team Game TOP with six tackles as well as his sack. Joining him in the starting Carolina 33:48 lineup were tackle Star Lotulelei and cornerback Melvin White while New Orleans 33:39 first-year tackle Kawann Short and safety Robert Lester also saw San Diego 32:39 extensive playing time. Houston 32:36 Kansas City 32:14 THIS WEEK IN THE NFC SOUTH BROADCAST INFORMATION All four NFC South teams are in action in Week Eleven. On Sunday, Tampa Bay hosts Atlanta in a division matchup and New Olreans hosts San Francisco. Carolina closes out the week’s slate with a TELEVISION NATIONAL RADIO Monday Night Football contest vs. New England. ESPN WestwoodOne Sports THIS WEEK’S NFC SOUTH SCHEDULE (Simulcast on WSOC-TV in Charlotte) Sunday Atlanta at Tampa Bay 1 p.m. (FOX) Play-by-Play: Mike Tirico Play-by-Play: Kevin Harlan Sunday San Francisco at New Orleans 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Color Analyst: Jon Gruden Color Analyst: Boomer Esiason Monday New England at Carolina 8:40 p.m. (ESPN) Sideline: Lisa Salters Sideline: Mark Malone 2013 NFC SOUTH STANDINGS W L PCT. PF PA New Orleans 7 2 .778 265 163 RADIO FLAGSHIP SPANISH RADIO Carolina 6 3 .667 214 115 WBT-AM WGSP-AM Atlanta 2 7 .222 186 251 (1110 AM in Charlotte) (1310 AM in Charlotte) Tampa Bay 1 8 .111 146 209 Play-by-Play: Mick Mixon Play-by-Play: Jaime Moreno Color Analyst: Eugene Robinson Color Analyst: Luis Moreno, Jr. Color Analyst: Jim Szoke MEDIA INFORMATION / CONTACTS Sideline: Sharon Thorsland Panthers.com – For the most up-to-date information on the Carolina Panthers, please visit the team’s official web site at www.panthers.com. Updated daily, the web site has the most 2013 PANTHERS SCHEDULE extensive information on upcoming games and the most compre- REGULAR SEASON (6-3) hensive news on the Panthers. Sunday Sept. 8 SEATTLE L, 12-7 Sunday Sept. 15 @ Buffalo L, 24-23 Panthers Communications Department Sunday Sept. 22 NEW YORK GIANTS W, 38-0 Charlie Dayton, Communications Director (704) 358-7471 Sunday Sept. 29 BYE WEEK [email protected] Steven Drummond, Media Relations Manager (704) 358-7448 Sunday Oct. 6 @ Arizona L, 22-6 [email protected] Sunday Oct. 13 @ Minnesota W, 35-10 Ryan Anderson, Communications Assistant (704) 358-7473 Sunday Oct. 20 ST. LOUIS W, 30-15 [email protected] Thursday Oct. 24 @ Tampa Bay W, 31-13 Al Lunsford, Communications Intern (704) 358-7741 [email protected] Sunday Nov. 3 ATLANTA W, 34-10 Sunday Nov. 10 @ San Francisco W, 10-9 Chelsea Parker, Communications Intern (704) 358-7449 Monday Nov. 18 NEW ENGLAND 8:40 p.m. ESPN [email protected] Sunday Nov. 24 @ Miami 1 p.m.* FOX Rebecca Duensing, Communications Intern (704) 358-7741 [email protected] Sunday Dec. 1 @ Tampa Bay 1 p.m.* FOX Sunday Dec. 8 @ New Orleans 1 p.m.* FOX Credential Requests – Please submit all credentials requests Sunday Dec. 15 NEW YORK JETS 1 p.m.* CBS for Panthers home games by accessing our media-only web Sunday Dec. 22 NEW ORLEANS 1 p.m.* FOX site. The site can be accessed at http://media.panthers.com or by going to Panthers.com and clicking on “Media Only” in the Sunday Dec. 29 @ Atlanta 1 p.m.* FOX News section. It is password protected and will be available to the media and others to whom the username and password are All times are Eastern Standard Time provided. CAPS = HOME GAMES URL – http://media.panthers.com *Subject to Flex Scheduling – Potential for time change Username – panthersmedia (all lowercase) Password – carolina (all lowercase) Twitter – Follow the Panthers communications department on Twitter at @PanthersPR. GAME 10: CAROLINA PANTHERS VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS NOTABLE CONNECTIONS THE SERIES • Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman was born in Boston The Panthers and Patriots have met five times in history, includ- and attended Springfield College. ing in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Patriots hold a 3-2 edge in the • Panthers assistant strength and conditioning coach Jason all-time series, including a 20-10 victory in New England in the Benguche played at Springfield College and coached at last meeting between the teams. Massachusetts during the 2005 spring semester. BY THE NUMBERS • Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly played collegiately at Boston Record vs. Patriots: 2-3 College. Last regular season game: N.E. 20, Car 10 (12/13/09) • Patriots special teams coach Scott O’Brien served as the Panthers largest winning margin: 10 at Car (9/18/05) Panthers assistant head coach and special teams coach for Patriots largest winning margin: 32 at Car (1/6/02) six seasons (1999-2004). Current series streak: 1 game, N.E. (2009- ) • Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes is from Shelby, N.C.