hardson returned to the starting lineup after missing three game

TAMPA, Fla. Adidas Zx Flux Sale Mens . -- Derek Anderson did his part to give Cam Newton a chance to get healthy. The veteran backup filled in nicely for the injured two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in Carolinas 20-14 season-opening victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Newton was held out because of a rib injury suffered during the preseason, giving Anderson his first start since 2010 when played for the Arizona Cardinals. The 10th-year pro had appeared in just four games and attempted only four passes over the previous two seasons playing behind Newton, who had started 48 consecutive games before learning Saturday night that coach Ron Rivera intended to sit him. "He wasnt very happy about it. He wanted to play so bad, in the worst way," Rivera said. "The one thing the doctor stressed to me was that if we could create one more opportunity, hed be that much healthier. That was the decision." Despite rallying with two late touchdowns, it was an ugly debut for the Bucs (0-1) under coach Lovie Smith. The defence applied little pressure on Anderson and failed to force a turnover. And the offence, that was one of the worst in the NFL a year ago, showed few signs of improvement until midway through the fourth quarter. With Newton cheering on his teammates from the sideline, Anderson completed 24 of 34 passes with no interceptions and one sack. The one-time starter for the Browns and Cardinals threw TD passes of 5 yards to Greg Olsen and 26 yards to rookie Kelvin Benjamin. "Ive been through a lot of different things. I havent been out there in four years. Just to play a solid football game and get a win was big for me," Anderson said. "I prepared all week like I was going to start," he added. "I had a plan in mind, what I was going to do against different coverages, and went out there and tried to execute as best I can." Carolinas defence did its part, too. The Panthers sacked Josh McCown three times and intercepted Smiths hand-picked quarterback twice, both times on ill-advised throws. McCown, a career backup, was coming off his best season as a pro in throwing for 13 TDs versus one interception filling in for an injured Jay Cutler in Chicago a year ago. On Sunday, he was 22 of 35 for 183 yards and two TDs. Much of his production came after the Panthers built a 17-0 lead midway through the third quarter. "I made a couple bad decisions that hurt our team and put us in a bad situation. Its things that I can clean up and get better, so theres no need to focus on anybody else. ... Those are things I can correct, and well get better as we move forward," McCown said. Luke Kuechly had one of Carolinas three sacks and forced a fumble that set up Graham Ganos 33-yard field goal in the final minute. The Bucs pulled within 17-14 on McCowns TD throws of 19 yards to Chris Owusu and 6 yards to Bobby Rainey. The Bucs got the ball back trailing by a field goal with 1:36 to go. But Kuechly, the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year -- forced Rainey to fumble after a short reception on the next play, spoiling any hopes for a comeback. Olsen finished with eight receptions for 83 yards, while Benjamin had six for 92 yards. Roman Harper and Antoine Cason had Carolinas interceptions, and the Panthers limited Bucs running back Doug Martin to 9 yards rushing on nine attempts. "We got ourselves in a hole in the first half, didnt do many things right," Smith said. "We talk about the turnover ratio, and we talk about everything that went wrong throughout the game. And at the end we had a chance to intercept a ball, were down three points and could have gone in for at least a field goal, and we (dropped) it." Newton led a pair of lopsided victories over Tampa Bay a year ago, when the Panthers tied a franchise record with 12 wins. The first player selected in the 2011 draft posted career highs in completion percentage, touchdowns passing and passer rating. He injured his ribs Aug. 22 at New England, sat out Carolinas preseason finale and was limited in practice last week after initially saying he was confident hed play. NOTES: The Bucs lost G Logan Mankins midway through the second quarter with a knee injury. ... The Bucs rushed for 102 yards, but more than half of that came on fullback Jorvorskie Lanes only carry. McCown scrambled for 27 yards on three attempts. Nike Air Max Zero Ireland . John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.Adidas Stan Smith Ireland .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs.ORLANDO, Fla. - If Orlando centre Dwight Howard is eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers before seasons end, he will be joining a team the Magic continue to dominate at the Amway Center. Playing their fourth game in five nights, the Magics energy wasnt always great Friday night, but they came alive when it counted in a 92-80 win over the Lakers -- Orlandos sixth victory in the last nine regular-season meetings between the two. Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to guide his team through a tough shooting performance. Jameer Nelson added 17 points and nine assists, and J.J. Redick had 15 points as all five starters reached double figures. Earlier in the day, Magic general manager Otis Smith alluded to Howards pre-season trade request and desire to play with a different point guard as the culprits in Nelsons unusually slow start this season. The teams Howards agent can talk with are the Lakers, Dallas and New Jersey. But Nelson, who came in averaging career lows in points (8.3) and shooting (38 per cent), finally showed some assertiveness offensively. "Its more important for us to win against a good team," Nelson said. "Its not about a Jameer game or myself individually. Ill get myself going. During the course of a season youre gonna have ups and downs as an individual and as a team. So the way you handle them as a person coming through the next game after a bad game -- that says who you are." Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol chipped in 13 for the Lakers, who lost their second straight and posted a season low in points to drop to 1-6 on the road. The Magic were also helped by Los Angeles second consecutive game shooting under 40 per cent. The Lakers 80 points also erased the season low they set in Thursday nights loss at Miami. Orlando was only slightly better at 41 per cent but connected on 12 three-pointers. "I just think we came out and were aggressive from the beginning of the game," Howard said. "We ran, we did a good job with our defensive assignments and we got a good win." Magic coach Stan Van Gundy did some lineup shuffling to give his team some fresher legs against the Lakers big front line. With forward Hedo Turkoglu sitting out, Van Gundy opted to start Redick in his place -- forming a three-guard lineup with Jason Richardson and Nelson at the point. It did help neutralize the Lakers height advantage and led to several fast break opportunities for Orlando. There is still room for improvement, though. "I thought our first half was excellent energy-wise," Van Gundy said. "I thought in the second half the energy was not so good. But I also thought what happened was we hit a stretch in the third quarter where it was foul, foul and thee game just slowed down. Nike Air Max 2016 White. Id like to get our pace up." The strategy also worked because the matchup between Howard and Lakers seven-footer Andrew Bynum was diminished barely two minutes into the second quarter when Bynum picked up his third foul. "To get three the same way is pretty tough," Bynum said. He returned, but left again late in the third after getting whistled for his fourth. Los Angeles also tried sending Howard to the foul line. That, too, was ineffective as Howard managed to rack up nine points from the charity stripe. The Lakers cut the Magics lead to 74-66 midway through the fourth quarter, but a technical on Bryant ignited an 8-0 Orlando spurt to push the lead back to 16. The Magic mostly were able to cruise from there. "We just have to keep playing," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "Theres no magic dust or no magic potion to be able to get us to get wins on the road. We have to just keep trying to executive offensively." Both teams struggled at times shooting in the first half, but the Magic caught fire with just over four minutes to play before halftime, and Ryan Andersons three-pointer broke a streak of seven straight missed shots for Orlando. With Bynum out, Howard also had a relatively easy time inside and was good on 6-of-8 free-throw attempts to finish the half with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Bryant scored 15 first-half points, but it was the lone early bright spot for the Lakers. The Magic led 22-10 after one, with the Lakers struggling mightily on the offensive end. Relying on a lot of perimeter shots, the Lakers were just 4 for 21 in the period, including Gasol missing all four of his shots. Orlando wasnt much better at 9 for 20, but managed to build as much as a 12-point cushion thanks to a 10-2 advantage on points in the paint. Just a day removed from their lone back-to-back-to-back of the season, the Magic get little reprieve from the condensed schedule -- though its something Redick said they are already preparing for. "Its just the way the schedule is," Redick said. "Everybodys like, yeah weve got four games in five nights. Well, guess what, when thats over youve got 10 in 15, and as soon as thats over youve got six in nine. Thats just how it works this season. Theres no let up." Notes: Howard has recorded 98 total rebounds his last five games. ... Turkoglu sat out for the second straight game with back spasms. ... Richardson returned to the starting lineup after missing three games with a bone bruise on his left knee. ... F Glen Davis played after attending his grandmothers funeral earlier in the day in Louisiana. ... The Lakers return home to host Indiana Sunday night and then are off until Wednesday when they play the Clippers. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '

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