Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton had one final drive to try to beat the Seattle Seahawks' defense Sunday. It fizzled after two plays.
In the most appropriate ending possible, rookie Bruce Irvin strip-sacked Newton, the Seahawks recovered the loose ball, and Seattle left Carolina with a 16-12 win.
On Carolina's previous drive, Newton had a man open in the end on fourth-and-goal. He threw it into the dirt. It was that kind of day.
Seattle's defense had an absolutely dominating performance, allowing just three points on the day. (Carolina scored nine points off defense and special teams.) The Seahawks sacked Newton four times and gave up fewer than 30 passing yards heading into the fourth quarter. (Carolina finished with 108 overall.)
The Seahawks have shown they can win without getting great quarterback play. Russell Wilson was better in this game, but he still threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Seattle was not aggressive on offense in a few spots because it didn't need to be.
Every road victory for the Seahawks is golden, because they're so good at home. This is Seattle's first road win of the season. This is very much a playoff-caliber team, if it can find any passing game.
The Panthers, meanwhile, enter their bye week at 1-4. That gives Newton a lot of time to stew on his latest setback -- and the Carolina coaching staff some time to fix what has gone wrong early this season.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
