Sunday’s visit from the New York Giants marked a reuni

on of sorts. Former Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettlman was in the building Stitched Torrey Smith Jersey , as was former offensive coordinator Mike Shula. The latter was routinely the brunt of near universal criticism during his final years in charge of the Panthers offense, largely thanks to the ultra conservative play calling Panthers fans have come to know and hate. It seemed his mere presence in the stadium was enough to put the Panthers offense in a state of complete disorder. The delay of game penalties and wasted timeouts that seemed to be a thing of the past once again reared their heads, and the infamous “grind it out” approach to offense once again manifested itself. Norv Turner called a good first quarter. On six first quarter first downs, the Panthers passed the ball three times, completing all of them for 44 yards and a touchdown. The other three plays were runs, but one of them was a piece of gadgetry that resulted in an 18 yard carry for wide receiver D.J. Moore. That’s the type of balance you like to see. Then things went south. Odell Beckham Jr. botched a punt that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to put the Panthers up 14-3 less than one minute into the second quarter. The Panthersseemingly deemed that 11 point lead with 44 minutes to go insurmountable. The ensuing first down play calls to close out the first half were run, pass, run, run, run, run. Just grind the clock, baby. The Panthers seemed to break themselves of that play calling curse in the locker room during the halftime intermission. They split their six third quarter play calls 50/50 Youth David Mayo Jersey , calling three runs and three passes, but that increased aggression vanished in crunch time. The Panthers entered the fourth quarter with a 20-16 lead and the ball just short of midfield.Starting with that precarious lead in the final frame, the Panthers went on to call this sequence of first down plays while leading: screen pass, run, run, run, screen pass, run, run, run. The two Cam Newton runs in that sequence generated 16 yards. The other six plays combined to gain five yards. The Panthers also lost their lead. With the Giants desperately hunting a comeback and the Panthers in need of offense, the coaching staff frequently elected to take the ball out of their most dynamic playmaker’s hands on first downs. It resulted in an offense constantly fighting an uphill battle to sustain drives and put the game out of reach. A historic Graham Gano field goal as time expired gave the coaching staff the result they sought despite a horribly flawed process that could have, and perhaps should have lost them the game. The Panthers overcame their own flawed game management once again to pull out a victory Stitched David Mayo Jersey , but it’s fair to wonder how long this can be sustained. Jameis Winston's inability to cut down on turnovers has cost him his starting job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Without speculating on what the move means for the young quarterback's future with the team, coach Dirk Koetter said veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick will lead the NFL's No. 1 ranked offense against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.Winston, 24, was benched after throwing four interceptions during last Sunday's 37-34 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals."We're going to start Fitz at quarterback this week. That's what we feel we need to do this week to give ourselves the best chance," Koetter said, adding Monday's decision to turn to the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick is "just for right now."Winston, who entered the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, has 11 turnovers 鈥?10 interceptions and one fumble 鈥?in 3陆 games since returning from serving a suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy.Fitzpatrick led three fourth-quarter scoring drives to erase an 18-point deficit at Cincinnati, but left Andy Dalton a little more than a minute to lead the Bengals down the field for a game-winning field goal as time expired."I don't like switching quarterbacks. That's not in my makeup," Koetter said, noting the way Fitzpatrick played Sunday, as well as while Winston was serving his three-game suspension Youth Greg Van Roten Jersey , made the call easier.With help from a talented group of playmakers including receivers Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Chris Godwin and Adam Humphries, as well as tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, Fitzpatrick became the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 400 yards in three consecutive games while helping the Bucs go 2-1 while Winston was suspended.The 14th-year pro also started Week 4's 48-10 loss at Chicago, but played poorly and was replaced by Winston with the Bucs trailing by 35 points at the half."He's done a really good job of putting the ball in the right spot, and we do have explosive players," Koetter said of Fitzpatrick's success. "He has said himself that in all his time playing he's never been on a team that has this many guys who can make plays for him."Although the Bucs continue to lead the NFL in passing offense and total offense, Winston's grip on the starting job gradually slipped away while turning the ball over seven times against Cleveland and Cincinnati the past two weeks."Both guys have had their moments when they've been extremely sharp," Koetter said. "But this really is just about we have to do a better job of protecting the football."Winston described being benched as "humbling.""It's not about me, though. It's my fault we were in that situation," Winston added after Sunday's game. "He had to make the decision. Fitz came in and played his tail off. Our offense responded Stitched Greg Van Roten Jersey , and we came back and had a chance to win."Koetter declined to discuss specifics about how he broke the news to Winston that Fitzpatrick will start against the Panthers (5-2).And with the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner's salary due to increase to $20.9 million if he remains with the Bucs next season, there's lots of speculation about whether Winston has started his last game for Tampa Bay (3-4)."Jameis is a pro. He will continue to work on his craft. That's all he can do," Koetter said."Very rarely is switching quarterbacks forever. ... Jameis will get another chance at some point," the coach added, "and when he does he just needs to do a better job of taking care of the football."In 49 games, Winston has thrown 54 interceptions and lost 17 fumbles. He's 19-29 as a starter, 1-2 this season.The fourth-year pro said after Sunday's game that he was not fearful of losing the starter's job."I fear nothing but God. I know that I have to fix this problem, and I will fix it," Winston said. "It doesn't come with being scared. You have to look at yourself in the mirror, take a long hard look at yourself, and persevere."