The Carolina Panthers staved off a fourth-quarter comeback from the Green Bay Packers to maintain their perfect record in the 2015 season.
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Despite an early field goal from the boot of Graham Gano, the Packers took the lead in the first quarter when Aaron Rodgers moved out of the pocket to throw on the run to Richard Rodgers for a one-yard touchdown.
However, the Panthers responded when Cam Newton drove his side the length of the field before he took it upon himself to leap over the offensive line for the score.
Newton then displayed his talent with his arm by firing deep for Devin Funchess to set up his team in the redzone before he drilled the ball to Greg Olsen for a seven-yard touchdown. A fumble from Packers running back Eddie Lacy then allowed Gano to add another field goal.
The Panthers compounded their dominant first half when Newton dropped back and threw deep to Corey Brown to complete a 39-yard touchdown.
Green Bay responded on their opening possession of the second half and it took just 60 seconds for them to find the endzone as Rodgers lofted the ball deep for Randall Cobb to catch and run for the 53-yard touchdown.
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The Panthers looked to put the match beyond the reach of the visitors when Gano kicked a field goal and Newton threw his third touchdown strike of the game to Funchess for a 14-yard score.
Rodgers brought the Packers to life when he offloaded the ball on a short pass to James Starks, who got behind blocks and ran into the space to find the endzone from 29 yards. The Packers converted the two-point conversion to reduce the deficit to 15 points.
The comeback was well and truly on for Mike McCarthy's men when Rodgers threw for his fourth strike of the game to connect with Richard Rodgers.
Green Bay were handed the chance to level the scores when Newton committed his first interception of the match when Casey Hayward picked him of down the sideline. However, Rodgers was picked off by Thomas Davis to clinch the win for the Panthers.
Simon Sinclair
