Carolina Panthers

Panthers Quick Hits: Week 1 vs. Broncos

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Panthers came up just short on Thursday night against the Denver Broncos, here’s our quick hits from the NFL season opener.

The Panthers suffered a heartbreaking loss on Thursday night when kicker Graham Gano’s 50-yard field goal try sailed wide left and they fell to the Denver Broncos, 21-20.

This kickoff to the NFL season pitted the two Super Bowl 50 teams in rematch and while the game was much more intriguing, the end result was the same.

The game started off strong for Carolina as it looked like they might have the anticipated edge. Things started going awry in the second half though as the defense ceded and the offense floundered in a repeat of shaky protection for quarterback Cam Newton.

Here are the quick hits from the Panthers first matchup, and first loss, of the season:

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) is tackled by Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib (21) and free safety Darian Stewart (26) in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Benjamin’s Back: While there’s plenty or areas to negatively disect from this game, one area where you’d be hard pressed to find issue is with Kelvin Benjamin. In his return to the football field, the second-year wideout dominated. On the Panthers’ very first drive of the game Benjamin caught two passes for 31 yards and recorded the first touchdown of the NFL season. He ended up with an impressive stat line of six catches for 91 yards and a score to lead all receivers and clearly demonstrate that he’s back.

Defensive Woes: There usually isn’t much to gripe about in regards to the Panthers defense but Thursday night it was an entirely different story. Carolina allowed Trevor Siemian and the Broncos’ offense to mark inside the 30 on five of eight legitimate drives and were bailed out with three timely turnovers (2 INTS, 1 FUMB). They allowed running back C.J. Anderson to rush for nearly 100 yards and in total, gave up 148 yards on the ground. Quite an uncharacteristic occurrence for this normally stout unit.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is tackled by Denver Broncos safety T.J. Ward (43) and linebacker Shaquil Barrett (48) in the second half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Cam Takes a Beating: One of the big storylines from this game was the repeated beating that Newton took from the Broncos’ D. In the first half, the line did a solid job of protecting their QB but by the end, it was a smattering of Newton. From both hits while throwing and running, Newton took a total of 17 hits. There’s was also a matter of hits to the head. On multiple occasions, the Panthers QB was hit helmet-to-helmet with only one being called and it was negated due to an intentional grounding call. While it’s no excuse for a loss, the issue of player safety and helmet-to-helmet hits was an ever present one in this season opener.

Stick around for more recapping and player grades from the Panthers heartbreaker in Denver.

*All stats and info via ESPN.com