CHARLOTTE - On the plane ride to Phoenix for Sunday's season opener at the Arizona Cardinals, first-time head coach Ron Rivera discussed with Panthers general manager Marty Hurney a concept that he had heard throughout his career as an assistant coach.
"I told him it's going to come down to six plays," Rivera said. "And it did."
Rivera's list of pivotal plays didn't even include Carolina's five chances from the 11-yard line or closer in the final two minutes of their 28-21 loss. Rather, Rivera targeted plays that would have made the final drive moot if they had gone the Panthers' way.
Rivera mentioned tight end Jeff King's 48-yard touchdown catch and wide receiver Early Doucet's 85-yard touchdown reception – both on blown coverages in his final analysis. He also circled Patrick Peterson's 89-yard punt return that gave Arizona the lead midway through the fourth quarter, a play where the gunners overran the play anticipating an opportunity to down the ball inside the 10-yard line on Jason Baker's punt from the Arizona 47.
"We were doing rugby-style kick where he puts the point down and kicks the ball up high with backspin," Rivera explained. "As the ball comes down, the two gunners put themselves in position in case the ball hits the ground to make sure it doesn't bounce into the end zone. What happened was they both got there at the same time. Typically, one goes behind and one guy is up front, but we had both behind, so that's where the cushion occurred.
"Then once he (Peterson) made his first move, we still had two guys in position to make a tackle, and both missed."
The other plays Rivera highlighted were in three situations where the Panthers were on the verge of being able to kick a field goal.
Early in the second quarter, with a first down on the Arizona 29 in a 7-7 game, a sack pushed Carolina back to the 35, and the Panthers opted to punt rather than try a 52-yard field goal.
"It was a field position situation," Rivera said. "We had a chance to pin them back, get the ball back and have a chance to score. If you kick the field goal, sure you have a three-point lead, but if you miss it, now they have the ball at the 42-yard line."
On their first drive of the second half, leading 14-7, Carolina earned a first down on the Arizona 39 but went the wrong way on a holding penalty and then gave up the ball on an interception, after which King scored his touchdown.
And, leading 21-14 early in the fourth quarter, the Panthers punted from the Arizona 40 after having a first down at the 35. The Cardinals tied it soon after on Doucet's long touchdown.
Rivera said if those six plays would have gone in the Panthers' favor, they would have had a chance to win. In reality, if even one of the plays had gone their way, that might been able to win.
LIGHTS, CAM, ACTION: Rivera didn't fully know what to expect from rookie quarterback Cam Newton in his NFL debut, but Rivera could have predicted one part of the outcome.
He knew that Newton, playing on the same field where he led Auburn to the national championship eight months ago, would be ready to compete.
"If there's one thing we really felt from the whole process, with everybody we interviewed, they said that when the lights come on and it's time, the young man will show up," Rivera said. "He sure did."
Newton never looked rattled, even in the face on Arizona's all-out blitzes, while breaking the NFL record for passing yards by a first-time starter and by a rookie on Kickoff Weekend with 422 yards.
"His performance was excellent. He was on point," said wide receiver Steve Smith, recipient of 178 of those yards. "He made great runs, made some great reads and made some fantastic throws. He made some throws out there that as a receiver made it easy."
Rivera warned, however, that it won't always be easy for Newton, who will make his home debut Sunday against the reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.
"He was very impressive and did the job that we hoped he could do. Did he exceed our expectations? Yes," Rivera said. "Now, it's just one game, and he could take a step back because people are going to gear up for him. They'll see what we're doing with him, and they'll attack that now, too."
WORTH THE GAMBLE: The Panthers handed the tall task of containing wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to cornerback Chris Gamble, and Rivera handed Gamble a compliment after Fitzgerald finished with just three catches for 62 yards.
Fitzgerald entered Sunday averaging 113.9 yards per game in seven previous meetings with the Panthers.
"With the exception of the late big throw (a 34-yarder), I thought Chris Gamble stepped up and played the way you would want him to," Rivera said. "We asked him to mirror Larry Fitzgerald, who I think is one of the best receivers in this league, and he answered the call.
"I'm very proud of the work he did, and I thought the safeties did a great job over the top with help."
Rivera also praised the pass rush brought by an extremely young defensive line for slowing the Cardinals passing game, though all the pressure on quarterback Kevin Kolb resulted in just two sacks.
"In this league, whenever you come free, you've got to finish the play," linebacker Thomas Davis said. "Pressure is a lot different than a sack."
