Houston Texans vs Carolina Panthers Box Score on Sep 20, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 20, 2015

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Quarterback Cam Newton threw for two touchdowns and made an acrobatic touchdown leap as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Houston Texans 24-17 on Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium.

Newton flipped into the end zone over the tackle attempt of Texans safety Rahim Moore for the tiebreaking points with 1:04 to play in the third quarter.

Linebacker A.J. Klein's fourth-quarter interception set up the Panthers at the Houston 36 with 9:02 left. The next play resulted in Newton's touchdown pass to receiver Philly Brown, pushing the Panthers to a 24-10 lead.

Houston got back in it on quarterback Ryan Mallett's 6-yard, fourth-down scramble for a touchdown with 6:31 remaining. It took only seven plays to trim the gap to 24-17.

After defensive lineman Jared Crick deflected Graham Gano's 53-yard field goal attempt, the Texans were in Carolina territory with 2:01 left after a roughing-the-passer penalty on defensive end Kony Ealy.

The Texans reached the Carolina 14-yard line before defensive tackle Kawann Short forced Mallett into a penalty for intentional grounding with 17 seconds left. Mallett's fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 5 seconds left.

Newton completed 18 of 37 passes for 195 yards.

Mallett ended up 27 of 57 for 243 yards.

The Texans, who had only 93 yards of total offense in the first half, drove 80 yards in 13 plays on the first possession of the second half. Tight end Garrett Graham made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown play.

Mallett was 7 of 7 on the drive after completing only 11 of 29 first-half passes.

The Panthers responded with an 80-yard drive of 14 plays. Before Newton's airborne touchdown leap, the possession was twice extended by Houston penalties. It was the only series of plays in the third quarter for Carolina.

Earlier, Newton hit receiver Ted Ginn Jr. with a 25-yard scoring strike in the second quarter.

Ginn, who dropped two passes in the opener, had another drop in the second quarter before his touchdown reception.

The margin grew to 10-3 after Gano's 28-yard field goal.

Moore thwarted a Carolina scoring threat with a diving interception of a tipped ball at the goal line with less than three minutes left in the first half.

The Texans opened the scoring on Randy Bullock's 43-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Mallett started ahead of Brian Hoyer, who was the starter in the opener.

The teams combined for 11 first-half punts.

NOTES: The all-time series between the teams is tied 2-2. … LB Luke Kuechly of the Panthers wasn't in uniform for the game after suffering a concussion in the opener at Jacksonville. … LB A.J. Klein started in Kuechly's spot. … Texans starting OG Jeff Adams left late in the first half with a knee injury. He was removed from the field on a cart. … Houston is home next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. … Carolina plays its first NFC South foe of the season next week at home against the New Orleans Saints.