Not that there are options aplenty to choose from, but Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns is the worst of the season so far. The 22 point loss to the Chicago Bears was rough, but there was plenty to work with from that game that acted as the light at the end of the tunnel.
Unfortunately, that light turned out to be the train and the impact of which has left the Carolina Panthers hurting. The resulting rash of significant injuries to significant players have piled up and how the Panthers pivot from
here is going to be crucial to set up what the team surely hopes to be playoff run.
In order to make that happen, many of the mistakes that reared their head during the match-up cannot continue to be repeated. Many of these pain points are repeat errors from previous weeks and have lingered from season to season.
Some may disagree, but I almost always take the view of penalties are a symptom of a lack of discipline or abundance of aggression. However, there are plenty of examples of, well, let’s call them a difference of perspective between myself and the officials. For example, when I read “if contact by an opponent materially affects a passer… intentional grounding rules do not apply” in the official playing rules of the National Football League I think it’s straightforward and the officials think… something else. A penalty within the first 2 minutes of the game that resulted in -1.82 expected points added; rough but not something that cannot be overcome.
The real back breakers for the Panthers , were two flags thrown on defensive players. Will Lee, who projects as the team’s starter with Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn both dealing with injuries, had a holding call on the opposite side of the field from the direction Deshaun Watson was scrambling/looking. A completely unforced bite on a double move that had a 0% chance of being thrown and a desperation jersey tug turned a sack on Watson on 2nd and 20 into a fresh set of downs. 1.33 expected points added for the Browns.
Lastly, and a scenario that repeated itself from the aforementioned Bears loss, was a roughing the passer call on that turned a game-changing turnover into a touchdown the other way. Bobby Okereke’s roughing the passer added 1.92 expected points, the eventual touchdown was the very same one where Horn reportedly tore his quad.
While penalties are frustrating, the single greatest factor that held the team back from victory was the inability to block. The pressure rate used for the Weekly Stat Reviews on this site does not factor in ‘hurries’ within the calculation. However, Pro Football Focus’ charting does include hurries and counted a whopping 30 pressures generated on 50 drop backs. If 60% of your attempts to pass the ball are significantly affected by a pass rush you’re not likely to have a good day. Young clearly wasn’t comfortable and was moving around with a noticeable limp for large stretches of the broadcast. Not ideal.
It’s not all bad, though. There are areas that have improved. While the passing offense was brutal for stretches, Young still managed to throw for 291 yards which was enough to place him as the top quarterback in passing yards through the first 3 weeks. It took many attempts to get there, but frankly the odds of Young ever leading the league in this category were slim to none given the story of his career so far.
Another positive area has been special teams. The Panthers are one of the top teams in the league when it comes to average opponent starting field position, and the special teams unit is the key cog in that. Kickoff coverage especially has been very strong, even causing a fumble that helped keep the team afloat when the offense was struggling to get going.
The Panthers have a few days to lick their wounds before facing off in primetime against the Detroit Lions. Plenty of football still to come, so until then, keep pounding.
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