DENVER _ In a Thursday night season opener that had the intensity and physicality of a postseason game, the Panthers and Broncos met the same fate as last February.
Graham Gano's 50-yard field-goal attempt with 9 seconds left faded wide left, and the Panthers' hopes of a strong start to the season were dashed.
Denver topped Carolina, 21-20, on the night when the Broncos unveiled their Super Bowl 50 banner in the same end zone where Gano's boot waned left.
Carolina enjoyed a great first half that seemed to leave all the Super Bowl 50 ghosts in the past. After a Super Bowl where the Panthers were 3-for-15 on third downs, they were 6-of-7 in the first half on the crucial down.
Cam Newton beat two Broncos around the edge for a 2-yard score in the second quarter and he returned to his dancing ways, though the dab remained buried as promised.
Meanwhile, Carolina turned the Broncos over three times at or inside the Carolina 30 through the first 35 minutes of the game.
Then Denver quarterback Trevor Siemian began playing with poise.
Coming off a Denver touchdown to tighten the game to a 3-point margin, the Panthers only had two plays before giving the ball back to the home team. Newton threw a pass to Kelvin Benjamin, who ran a somewhat lazy slant route, and it was tipped and intercepted by Chris Harris Jr.
Denver coach Gary Kubiak made a gutsy call on that drive when he decided to go for it on fourth down at the 1 { rather than kick a field goal and tie the game. The move paid off. The Broncos got the first down, and three plays later they were in the end zone with their first lead of the game.
