Win Probability Added: +22.92
NEP: +5.03
The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos as the Week 1 NFL kickoff matchup was always sure to have bad blood in it. These teams had two of the most impressive defensive performances in a Super Bowl in recent memory last year, and now you put them in grudge match on the first game of the season? Brutal.
Ahead by just three points early in the fourth quarter, Carolina sent left wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin on a dig route on 2nd-and-4, cutting him back into the middle. On a poorly-placed ball, Denver cornerback Chris Harris Jr. saw his opportunity and punched the ball out of the hands of the seven-inches-taller Benjamin, leapt backwards, and snared the pick.
Adding insult to injury, Panthers offensive lineman Andrew Norwell decided that was a good time to dog pile on the dead play and give the Broncos another 15 yards, stalling out the Panthers' potential dagger drive.