How pleasant it seemed, at first, the slogging, chugalong drive by the Carolina Panthers in the third quarter that lasted 20 plays and 10:08.
It was a bouquet, if you will, of perfumed performance. Six first downs. Four of five on third-down conversions. A converted fourth-and-1 by quarterback Cam Newton. Excellent field position.
Except there was a bee in it.
On second down and at the Kansas City 21, Newton was sacked on back-to-back snaps, for a total loss of 19 yards.
First, Dee Ford chewed through the Panthers’ offensive line to take down Newton for a loss of 7.