Playing the offensive line is a bit like being in an orchestra. All it takes is one piece being off-tune to ruin the entire performance.
Such has been the case for the Carolina Panthers in 2026—as they've struggled to establish a consistent run game and protect quarterback Bryce Young through three games. The unit hit a low in Sunday afternoon's 21-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns—which was a winnable matchup if not for an atrocious performance in the trenches.
But at least one of the hog mollies has an idea of what's going on. After the game, star right guard Robert Hunt diagnosed the problem—saying it feels like there's one guy off every snap, per Mike Kaye at ESPN:
"I think we all just got to do a better job. I think we're just kind of -- I hate
to say it -- one man off every time. That could be from me or anybody else," said Panthers right guard Rob Hunt of the team's run game struggles. "So we've just got to be on the same page. I think we've just got to click, and I think later in the game, it felt good and it looked good. We've got to start early. If we start early, it's a different ball game."
The Week 3 loss, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, saw Young pressured on 51 percent of his dropbacks. In addition, running back Chuba Hubbard was largely bottled up—save for the offense's late touchdown drive.
This unit is definitely suffering from not having starting offensive tackles Taylor Moton and Ikem Ekwonu available. However, this group is also supposed to be this team's greatest roster strength, and they're spending more than any other NFL team up front, by a wide margin.
Offensive line coach Joe Gilbert has to engineer a solution, or the Panthers offense is going to fall short of what looks to be enormous potential this year.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers G Robert Hunt believes this is why the OL has struggled in 2026
