The Carolina Panthers picked up their second successive win to move to 3-3 in their season with a 30-15 victory over the St Louis Rams.
The Panthers got off to the perfect start in the game as Sam Bradford's pass was tipped into the air and defensive back Captain Munnerlyn intercepted the ball with a diving grab. He then ran the ball all the way to the end zone for a 45-yard return.
However, the Rams got a score back from their defense when they brought down running back Mike Tolbert for a loss in his own end zone when defensive end Eugene Sims made the tackle and registered a safety for two points.
Kickers Graham Gano and Greg Zuerlein exchanged field goals from 28 and 37 yards respectively before the Panthers upped the ante late in the half as Cam Newton engineered a drive into the Rams' 20 and Tolbert went into the right end zone, this time for a one-yard score.
After the break, the Panthers thought that they had scored another touchdown by Steve Smith's effort was ruled out for a penalty on the play, which forced Gano into another field goal.
The Rams got themselves back in the game when Bradford moved his team down the field and got his first touchdown of the match when he found Zac Stacy in the end zone for a four-yard strike to bring his side within eight points.
However, back came the Panthers and they put the game out of the reach of the Rams when they went 15 points ahead. Newton fired down the right-hand side to Smith on a curl route and he beat a tackle to go into the end zone for a 19-yard score.
That score proved to be the deciding factor as the Rams failed to make a comeback to allow the Panthers to secure the win.
Simon Sinclair
