opportunistic defence stopped Colin Kaepernick

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Carolina Panthers can now say they have that signature win everybody has been waiting to see: on the road, against the reigning NFC champions, in November. While facing one of the NFLs brightest young quarterbacks, to boot. Carolinas swarming, opportunistic defence stopped Colin Kaepernick in his tracks. Drayton Florence intercepted a pass by Kaepernick in the final minute to seal a 10-9 victory Sunday to snap the San Francisco 49ers five-game winning streak and give the Panthers their fifth straight win. So much for the idea that Carolina hadnt beaten any team of consequence thus far. "I dont think it really bothers us, it gives us the opportunity to step up to the challenge. We did," said wide receiver Steve Smith, who had six receptions. "A win like this can boost us, a win like this can continue to give us life throughout the season, and make us feel like were working for something, and we are." Graham Gano kicked a 53-yard field goal with 10:05 remaining that held up as the Panthers (6-3) twice shut down Kaepernick on last-ditch drives with swarming defence. DeAngelo Williams broke two tackles for a 27-yard touchdown run late in the first half that pulled Carolina within 9-7. Gano missed wide left on a 48-yard field goal in the third period, but came through later. San Francisco (6-3) got the ball back with 5:25 left at its 1, then again with 1:02 to go. Phil Dawson kicked a season-best 52-yard field goal among his three for the 49ers, who lost tight end Vernon Davis and rookie safety Eric Reid to concussions. Carolina fumbled twice in the closing moments, but recovered each time. First, Jonathan Stewart fumbled and Mike Tolbert pounced on the ball. Cam Newton recovered his own bobble. This was hardly the highly touted showdown between 2011 No. 1 overall pick Newton and Kaepernick, the sixth quarterback drafted that year, in the second round. They roomed together during the scouting combine. For Newton, the numbers hardly mattered. "This game is a maturity jump for us, because in the past what Ive been a part of, weve been somewhat uncertain of how we will turn out in these types of games," Newton said. "We needed that type of game, just to be in a dog fight, in somewhat of a barnburner, to show what type of team this really is." Kaepernick went 11 for 22 for 91 yards with an interception and was sacked six times for a 42.0 passer rating. Newton was only slightly better, going 16 of 32 for 169 yards, an interception and four sacks for a 52.7 rating. For two teams that have been putting up points at a prolific pace for the past month, the defences dictated this one. "As the game went on, it got more and more intense," Smith said. More than losing the game, the 49ers losses of Davis and Reid could be troublesome for the reigning NFC champions as they hit the road next week for New Orleans, then go to Washington. "Well do what we do, bounce back, regroup, refit and reorganize and come back this week," coach Jim Harbaugh said. Davis didnt return after sustaining a concussion in the second quarter, then Reid went down on a helmet-to-helmet hit on Mike Tolbert in the third. Earlier, Reid recovered a fumble to give him five takeaways in an already-stellar rookie season that also includes three interceptions. Frank Gore had 16 carries for 82 yards, accounting for most of San Franciscos 151 total yards. "For the most part, I dont really think they did anything that necessarily confused us," 49ers centre Jonathan Goodwin said. "They only gave up nine points. Its hard not to give them credit. We expected it to be a physical game. Did we expect to only score nine points? Nah." Dawson put San Francisco ahead on a 52-yard field goal on the teams opening drive, then kicked second-quarter field goals of 43 and 25 yards. But Kaepernick could never get his team in the end zone in its first game since a bye on the heels of a win over Jacksonville in London. 49ers pass-rushing specialist and 2012 All-Pro linebacker Aldon Smith played limited snaps after missing five games to undergo treatment for substance abuse. Wide receiver Mario Manningham started and had three catches in his season debut, nearly 11 months after a serious left knee injury that required surgery. Carolina got going after managing only minus-7 yards passing and 12 total yards in the first quarter. The Panthers finished with 250 total yards. "This one really did come down to the way the defence played," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "Any time you put yourself in a position where you can force the other team to kick field goals, you get a chance to win." Notes: The 49ers also lost TE Garrett Celek to a hamstring injury in the first quarter, while DT Ray McDonald hurt an ankle. ... Panthers LB Chase Blackburn did not return in the second half because of a foot injury. Harmon Killebrew Jersey . Mark Van Guilder, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons also scored for the Admirals (22-13-10), who are 2-0-2 in their last four outings, while Roussel tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Greg Pateryn scored once for the Bulldogs (20-22-4), who lost their fifth straight contest, and also assisted on Gabriel Dumonts goal. Phil Hughes Jersey . -- Cole De Vries had a couple of key strikeouts during what could have been the inning that doomed him to defeat against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to escape further damage and keep the game tied up. http://www.authentictwinsgear.com/twins-max-kepler-jersey/. -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. Minnesota Twins Jerseys . -- Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was admitted to the hospital Friday for observation due to minor complications from cancer treatments, his family said.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Penguins are ready for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Ottawa Senators arent headed to the post-season, but captain Jason Spezza wanted to make sure his team finished the season strong. Spezza scored in the shootout to help the Senators beat the Penguins 3-2 on Sunday night and stretch their season-ending winning streak to five games. "We wanted to play for each other," said Spezza, who finished his first season as captain. "We talked about it a lot down the stretch, how it would be easy to let up, and I thought the group showed good character by finishing hard and winning these games." The teams were tied 2-2 after two periods and didnt score in the third or overtime. Spezza, who scored the lone goal in Ottawas win Saturday against Toronto, stopped at the circle during his shootout attempt, stickhandled around goalie Jeff Zatkoff, and scored. Kyle Turris added a goal in the shootout for the Senators. Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner stopped Beau Bennett and Jussi Jokinen to seal the win. Turris scored his 26th goal in regulation, and Mark Stone had his fourth for Ottawa, which will miss the playoffs for the second time in six years and first since 2011. "We believe in this group, that its a good group and very close to being a good team," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "We have work to do and we have to come to training camp in September prepared to do the work and make changes to our game thats going to make us successful." Jokinen scored on the power play in regulation, his 21st of the season, and Lee Stempniak added his 12th for the Penguins, who rested captain Sidney Crosby and several others for their final game before the playoffs. No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury also sat out along with Brandon Sutter, Matt Niskanen, Robert Bortuzzo and Deryk Engelland. "I think weve gone through quite a bit with this group in terms of different lineups, different injury situations," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said of his team, which led the NHL with 521 man-games lost. "I think weve done a better job of being able to shut teams down and limit opportunities, but now we have to do that in the playoffs." The Penguins will face Columbus in the first round of the playoffs. The series begins Wednesday in Pittsburgh. It will be the first post-season meeting between the teams, separated by a four-hour drive. The perennial-contending Penguins have lots of star power and three Stanleyy Cup titles.ddddddddddddColumbus, during its first season in the Eastern Conference, secured its second playoff berth and first since the 2009 season. "Theyre skilled, they have great goaltending and they played fast," Penguins forward James Neal said. "We had a good year against them. Theyre going to come hard. Its the playoffs and everyone has a chance now." Despite missing the finale, Crosby won his second scoring title — topping Anaheims Ryan Getzlaf. Crosby, who finished with 36 goals and 104 points, outscored Getzlaf by 17 points to win the Art Ross Trophy for the first time since the 2006-07 season, his second in the NHL. The seven-year gap is the second-longest span between scoring titles. "Sid, I think, to get over 100 points ... to have the lead as he does over Getzlaf by that many points is pretty amazing to see," Bylsma said. Pittsburgh hopes to have former NHL MVP and two-time scoring champion Evgeni Malkin back for the playoffs after he missed the final 11 games of the regular season because of a foot injury. Malkin skated with teammates Chris Conner (foot) and Joe Vitale (upper body) on Sunday, but Bylsma didnt say whether they would be ready for Wednesdays playoff opener. "I like the way were getting healthy and I like the way were playing," Neal said. "This year is a little different than others. Were playing good hockey at the right time and thats big for us." Jokinen opened the scoring Sunday with a power-play goal with 5:14 left in the first period. His centring pass deflected off Eric Grybas skate and trickled between Lehners pads. Turris tied it later in the period, scoring in the final seconds of a power play when he sent a shot past Zatkoff from the left faceoff dot. Stempniak put the Penguins ahead 2-1 when he tipped Bennetts shot behind Lehner at 5:16 of the second. Stone tied it with Ottawas second power-play goal at 17:14 from the top of the crease, whacking in a rebound of Patrick Wierciochs point shot. NOTES: The Penguins played their fourth straight overtime game. ... Pittsburgh finished the season with 109 points, the second-highest total in team history. A Penguins player has won the scoring title in 15 of the last 26 seasons. ... Crosby and Malkin are the fourth set of teammates to win multiple scoring titles while playing together and the first since Bostons Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr between 1969-75. ... Ottawa scratched Jared Cowen, Matt Kassian and Mika Zibanejad. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '