Sack, sack ends Panthers’ long march and begins Chiefs’ comeback

The interception return for a touchdown by Eric Berry and Marcus Peters’ pilfering of the football from Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin that set up the game-winning points in the Chiefs’ 20-17 triumph on Sunday were monster plays.

But perhaps the Chiefs wouldn’t have reached those junctures without a series of events that occurred late in the third quarter, when the game felt like a sure Carolina triumph.

Sacks on successive snaps by Dee Ford and Chris Jones stopped a Panthers drive that seemed like an eternity.

Carolina opened the possession at the 9, and embarked on a death-by-1,000-papercuts drive that reached the Chiefs’ 20 with the help of four third-down conversions and one fourth-down sneak for 1 yard by quarterback Cam Newton.

The Chiefs could have been demoralized as the Panthers, leading 17-3, reached the red zone for a certain score.

But that was the precise moment when the defense dug in. On first down, Berry knocked Newton out of bounds for a 1-yard loss.

On second down, Ford, from his left outside linebacker spot, blew around right tackle Daryl Williams and almost glided past Newton. But Ford got his hands on the hip of Newton, his former Auburn teammate, then latched on to Newton’s legs and spun him down.

Ford, who saw a sack wiped out by a defensive holding penalty earlier in the game, had his 10th of the season.

He stood up and flashed his “five, five,” but the moment didn’t feel the vibrations of a game turning. The Chiefs had more work to do.

“We need to play each play as they come,” Ford said. “I don’t say, ‘I need to get a sack,’ and then go get a sack. You keep rushing, keep doing things you’ve been doing and try to do it a little better each play.”

Ford finished with two tackles for loss and a pass defended. He also found himself double-teamed by the Panthers’ offensive line.

The sack pushed Carolina back to the 28, but still in field goal range. Jones took care of that on the next play.

Lining up in the gap, Jones shot past guard Trai Turner and got to a retreating Newton, dropping him for a 12-yard loss. Newton barked at his offensive line as Jones did the dab, perhaps a response to Newton’s dab after his rushing touchdown earlier in the game.

Those were the Chiefs’ only sacks of the game, and they couldn’t not have come at a more opportune time.

Jones said Ford’s play moments earlier provided motivation.

“He came in the room with nine (sacks), I came in with two,” Jones said. “I get competitive. His sack motivated me to push harder and try to get one myself.”

Carolina punted into the end zone, completing a drive that lasted 20 plays and drained 10:08 off the clock. Newton knew the Panthers had lost a great scoring chance.

“Any time you have a drive like that, you don’t want to void it with no points,” Newton said. “I just have to find ways to get the ball out of my hands.”

According to pro-football-reference.com, it was the longest drive in the NFL since 1998 to end in a punt. Panthers tight end Greg Olsen pointed directly to the series — 20 plays, 10 minutes, 0 points — when assigning blame for the loss.

“You can’t have the ball and go on what felt like the whole quarter drive, have the ball on the 20 and not even attempt a field goal,” Olsen said. “That’s why we lost the game.”

And when the Chiefs started to win it.

This story was originally published November 13, 2016 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Sack, sack ends Panthers’ long march and begins Chiefs’ comeback."