Panthers vs. Broncos: Concussions, timeouts and kneeling

Newton took the high road, but others spoke up on his behalf, including Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis.

The Denver Broncos' 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night was a hard-hitting affair filled with bad blood, and Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe wasn't pleased with some of the aggressive tactics deployed by the opposition's offensive line. This led to speculation that officials allow more unsafe hits on Newton, whether it is consciously or subconsciously.

"I haven't slept much, I couldn't believe we won the game with some of the things that we did, some of the mistakes that we made", he said with a head-shaking laugh. "Key players in crunch time rarely ever get removed for an evaluation, probably because the ATC spotter doesn't want to be blamed for creating a competitive disadvantage if, for example, Cam Newton had been unavailable to the Panthers for the final drive if, as it turns out, Newton didn't have a concussion". However, the victory over the favored Panthers and reigning league MVP Cam Newton should mean another increase for Siemian heading into Week 2.

"If anything happens in the game that looks questionable, our doctor and the independent come together and they go and look at it immediately on instant replay".

The NFL has tried to beef up its player-safety rules in recent years, but one such measure has a basic flaw that makes it hard to enact.

The last head-to-head blow came from Broncos safety Darian Stewart with 36 seconds left. Only one drew a flag.

Stewart said he expects to be fined for the hit on Newton because almost every helmet hit on a quarterback is fined, but he won't change his play.

Newton still played well enough to win.

Had that roughing call stood, Carolina would've had the ball in field goal range with a few more plays to move closer. For a while, at least, this game had the makings of fun. At 6 foot 5, 111kg of muscle, he's built like a defensive lineman and runs like a halfback.

Later, Twitter went insane with vines and video of Newton flossing on the sideline. His mother would be proud. This year, they're starting 1-0. However, after looking at the hit again on Friday, Dean Blandino, the head of officiating, felt that since Ware was in the process of tackling Newton and Miller was shedding his blocker, it's unstandable the hit was not flagged. He got ripped for wearing a hoodie into the postgame press conference that night, barely answering questions before leaving early. Gano split the uprights on a kick that didn't count just after Kubiak called timeout, then missed a minute later, but he says he doesn't think the timeout affected him. "I'm just glad it was offsetting penalties".

"It starts with the guys who control the behavior on the field", Cecil told ESPN's Jim Trotter.