Panthers snap franchise-worst streak with red-zone stop vs. Colts

Sunday’s tilt between the Carolina Panthers and the Indianapolis Colts didn’t get off to the prettiest of starts. But, hey, it wasn’t all completely ugly.

What has been a bruised and battered defense finally made a stand inside their own 20-yard line, something they haven’t done too often this year. In fact, Carolina had allowed a touchdown on 12 consecutive red-zone possessions—a franchise record.

That streak, however, came to a stop—even with the Colts getting all the way to the Panthers’ 1-yard line. The stand began at the beginning of the second quarter, when safeties Alex Cook and Xavier Woods took down Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor for a loss of a yard.

Then, following a false start on wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., quarterback Gardner Minshew was forced way out of the pocket and into an incompletion. The Colts would settle for a 26-yard field goal from kicker Matt Gay, giving them a 3-0 lead with 13:52 left in the first half.