Eagles vs. Panthers: Score and Twitter Reaction for Sunday Night Football

The Carolina Panthers (6-0) weren't at their best, but a smashmouth approach allowed them to remain undefeated and slay the Philadelphia Eagles 27-16 on Sunday night at Bank of America Stadium.  

Carolina's won its last 10 regular season games dating back to last year, per the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones, which is the longest streak in the NFL. According to NFL Network's Scott Hanson, there are now five 6-0 teams for the first time in NFL history. 

The Panthers embraced a power running scheme to help pace the offense, and the punishing style wore down the Eagles' front seven. Jonathan Stewart rushed 24 times for 125 yards, and human bowling ball Mike Tolbert sprinkled in three carries for 16 yards while recording touchdowns on the ground and through the air. 

Stewart became the first player since Frank Gore in Week 4 of the 2014 season to tally 100 yards rushing against the Eagles. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Panthers are now 11-1 in their last 12 games when Stewart tops the century mark. 

Cam Newton wasn't spectacular by any means, but he did enough to keep the chains moving on a night when the Eagles couldn't always do the same. Newton completed 14-of-24 passes for 197 yards, three interceptions, a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. 

Sam Bradford showed relatively solid composure in the pocket, but Philadelphia wasn't able to stretch the field and put pressure on a stingy Panthers defense. All told, Bradford completed 26-of-46 passes for 205 yards and an interception. 

Ultimately, the Eagles' offense was stymied by seven drops. As Pro Football Focus' Mike Clay noted, it was just more of the same for Philadelphia: 

Ryan Mathews ripped off a career-long 63-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to cut the deficit to eight, and a field goal following a Byron Maxwell interception gave the Eagles real life after falling behind 21-6 shortly after halftime. 

That was as close as they would get, though. While Mathews looked sharp, totaling 97 yards and a score on the ground, he wasn't fed the ball on a consistent basis. Mathews was limited to six carries while DeMarco Murray led Philadelphia with 18 carries for 65 yards. 

According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, Murray more than doubled Mathews' snap count: 

The Eagles' offense didn't move the ball at particularly inspiring rates in the first half, and it couldn't crank up production in the second half. Despite controlling the ball for 15 of the game's first 24 minutes, Bradford and Co. had only three points to show for their early efforts. 

However, Bradford had a couple of legitimate excuses for his 13-of-25 start. Left tackle Jason Peters went down with lower back spasms in the first quarter, per Philadelphia Magazine's Tim McManus, and No. 1 wide receiver Jordan Matthews was once again plagued by drops. 

PhillyVoice.com's Jimmy Kempski provided his take on Matthews' uncharacteristic struggles: 

Philadelphia's defense wasn't able to prop up the offense, either. The Eagles surrendered 119 first-half rushing yards, which was eight shy of the most they had allowed in a game entering Sunday night's clash. 

The Eagles also allowed two rushing touchdowns in the first half—one to Newton and one to Tolbert—twice as many as they gave up over the season's first six games, per CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank. 

That said, a pair of first-half interceptions by Nolan Carroll and Malcolm Jenkins allowed the Eagles to enter halftime trailing by a score before the Panthers seized control down the stretch. 

Philadelphia has some serious soul-searching to do as it heads into its bye week at 3-4. The offense hasn't resembled the high-powered unit it was once billed as, and Bradford's paltry 4.5 yard-per-attempt average Sunday night was indicative of the team's systematic shortcomings. 

A week off will give Chip Kelly's troops time to regroup before they clash with the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 8, but their margin for error has dwindled considerably. An NFC East title is still within the realm of possibility given how drastically the division has underperformed, though that may be an optimistic goal for a team that's looked out of sorts on offense all season long. 

The Panthers, on the other hand, will look to stay undefeated next Monday night at home against a sputtering Indianapolis Colts team. Indianapolis has lost back-to-back games, and with an inconsistent Andrew Luck under center, the Panthers could feast on another shaky offense. 

Post-Game Reaction

According to McManus, Jenkins wants to see some of his teammates match his energy: 

Speaking to reporters at the post-game podium, Kelly summed up his offense's performance, per CSNPhilly.com's Derrick Gunn: 

Meanwhile, Newton told reporters, "we're not satisfied with what we've done," despite the team's 6-0 start, per ESPN.com's David Newton.  

If there was a shred of good news for the Eagles, it was that Peters told Frank he will be good to go for the Eagles' Week 9 contest against the Cowboys.