The Carolina Panthers routed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48 to 16 in a record setting day for quarterback Cam Newton. The Panthers offense was rolling as Cam Newton passed Peyton Manning to set the rookie passing yards record and also threw a team record 91 yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell.

In one of the most amazing plays of the season Cam Newton also broke a 49 yard touchdown run where he used Panther like speed to outrun the Bucs defensive backs. Cam Newton now has 3,893 passing yards which is a new NFL record for a rookie quarterback.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just could not get their running game going which would have kept Cam Newton off the field. The Bucs rushed for only 59 yards against the Carolina Panthers who rushed for 270 yards. Josh Freeman had a decent game completing 28 of 38 for 274 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But Freeman wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive Christmas Eve explosion of the Carolina Panthers.

Cam Newton completed 11 of only 17 passes as the Panthers called off the dogs and tried to not run the score up on the Buccaneers. Newton had 171 yards passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cam Newton added 65 yards rushing and the touchdown.

“Double Trouble” DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 14 carries for 154 yards and two touchdowns by Williams. The Panthers even got 23 yards rushing by Steve Smith who only caught one pass for nice yards against the Buccaneers.

Brandon LaFell had the 91 yard touchdown pass and ended up with three receptions for 103 yards. Jeremy Shockey and Jonathan Stewart each had a touchdown reception from Cam Newton.

Jordan Senn had another good game for the Carolina Panthers when they played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Senn had eight tackles with two assists. James Anderson had seven tackles and a fumble recovery against the Buccaneers. Anderson has been the best and most consistent defensive player for the Carolina Panthers in 2011. Jonathan Nelson the rookie defensive back out of Oklahoma had a nice game with 5 tackles, two assists and an interception against the Bucs.

The domination of the Buccaneers by the Carolina Panthers shows the NFL that the Panthers are a team to watch out for in 2012. In the final game of the season the Panthers will be headed to New Orleans next week. Please check back here for my preview of that game, soon.

The Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 38 to 19.  Thanks for checking out my review of the Panthers at the Buc’s game. Shortly before the game we found out that Tampa Quarterback Josh Freeman was out with a shoulder injury.

I am not sure Josh Freeman would have made a difference in the Bucs versus Panthers game.Carolina came out hot and played hard even when the game was already decided. The Panthers didn’t let up and allow the Buc’s to get back in the game.

Tampa backup quarterback Josh Johnson looked a little shaky at first but played hard and got better as the game progressed. I had feared the Tampa running game but the Panthers quick lead negated that and forced Johnson to pass often.

Cam Newton had a great game against Tampa Bay. Cam Newton tied then broke the single season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. In a class move Cam Newton gave that record setting ball to a young lady wearing a shirt with Newton’s name on it, in the stands.

Cam Newton completed 12 of 21 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers against Tampa Bay.Newton also rushed for 54 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns and even caught a 27 yard pass from Legedu Naanee.

Brandon LaFell had a nice game with three catches for 64 yards in his new starting role. Legedu Naanee caught two including a very nice touchdown pass and Steve Smith caught two for 32 yards.

Jonathan Stewart had a great game and ran with abandon against Tampa Bay. Stewart rushed for 80 yards on 14 carries and added two receptions for 19 yards. DeAngelo Williams ran for 29 yards on 11 carries.

The Carolina Panthers defense had a nice game against Josh Johnson and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Johnson was Tampa’s leading rusher with 45 yards and he was held to 229 yards, one score and one INT is the passing game.

However the fact that your three leading tacklers were defensive backs is not a good sign for the Carolina Panthers defense. Godfrey had seven tackles and two assists while Gamble added five tackles and one assist. Greg Hardy and Charles “Big Money” Johnson had three tackles each and Johnson added a sack.

I felt the Panthers had a good game against the Buccaneers and showed some team maturity. In the past Carolina had a tendency to play down to the level of their opponents. I had feared the Panthers would let down when they knew Freeman was out. Next up for the Carolina Panthers is the Atlanta Falcons.