Plenty of folks have questioned the decision of the Panthers to punt inside Atlanta territory with the game on the line. Add Panthers receiver Brandon LaFell to the list.
“It’s fourth and inches, we’ve got Mike Tolbert, we’ve got Jonathan Stewart, some of the best power backs in the league,” LaFell told WFNZ, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “I felt like we could have got that yard. And I didn’t want to put our defense in that situation, because we should have won the game right there with that possession.”
They also have quarterback Cam Newton, who already owns the record for quarterback rushing touchdowns through two NFL seasons, even though he still has 12 games left in his second NFL season.
“I felt like it came down to the offense to win that game, and we should have won that game,” LaFell said. “And we just gave it away like that -- it just hurts. You just put a lot of work into something, and you just give it away. Like, why? So everybody was down in the locker room, but I feel like we come in tomorrow, we’re going to get back right. But this is much harder to get over than the Giants loss.”
Yep, LaFell feels the same way many fans do.
“I’d rather get blown out than lose a game like that,” LaFell said. “We just gave the game away.”
No matter what happens the rest of the way, the Panthers will have a hard time forgetting about the day that they acted in crunch time like they had something to lose.