Why Panthers can’t let Eagles’ tight ends produce like Washington’s did Sunday

All things considered, Panthers defensive coordinator Eric Washington liked the way his defense played in Sunday’s 23-17 loss to Washington. Three sacks, five quarterback hurries and five tackles for a loss are tough to ignore on a stat sheet, and he credited the Panthers’ pass coverage for successes rushing the passer.

Washington only averaged 4.5 yards per attempt through the air, but its longest play of the game — a 22-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis in the first quarter — remains in the first-year coordinator’s mind, even as the team prepares to face Philadelphia this weekend.

“We had a miscommunication on one of the explosive passes to Vernon Davis (Sunday) and that led to that particular score. We were a little bit out of position so that one stands out the most to me,” Washington saidMonday. “But just to keep that in perspective, I think they averaged 4 yards per (attempt) yesterday.

“So in terms of the overall picture in the passing game, I was pretty pleased with how we rushed the quarterbacks and how we controlled and even kind of negated some of the passing concepts that we got from their offense as a whole, whether it was the tight end, a slot receiver, or a wide receiver, or even them trying to get the ball to the backs in the form of screens.”

Davis and Jordan Reed combined for 84 yards and a touchdown, catching 8-of-12 targets catches Sunday, marking the second-highest yardage total Carolina has allowed tight ends this season. The duo exploited gaps in the Panthers’ Cover 3 defense, especially Reed, who reeled in four of his five catches in the short middle area of the field.

Eric Washington’s unit spent most of the game in that Cover 3 but limited the tight ends’ production in the second half to three catches on four targets. He felt it was his defense’s best option given what he knew about Washington’s passing attack, and believes the Panthers can hold any offense in check when it executes properly.

“When we play man coverage, obviously, the person assigned to any particular receiver … he’s got to control that receiver long enough for the rush to affect the quarterback,” Washington said. “When it’s a zone, we have specific areas on the field that we’re assigned to and we’ll relate to those areas based on what we call patterned pressure. Our coverage concepts are designed to address passing concepts and when we do a great job of that, we feel like we can limit whoever.

“When we’re a little bit off with that, and a quarterback has time, in this league he can find an open receiver.”

Carolina would be remiss to allow the latter to happen this Sunday. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is one of the NFL’s best at extending plays and breaking down coverages. Zach Ertz, his favorite target, leads all tight ends in receiving yards and is second in the NFL in receptions, regardless of position.

Shaq Thompson returned to his “Buffalo” role Sunday and could see a lot of Ertz as a hybrid safety/linebacker. The 2018 Pro Bowl selection managed just two catches in last season’s matchup with Carolina, though both resulted in a touchdown.

“We just need to get back to our brand of football at the end of the day. It’s about us, it’s not who they have, it’s about how we’re going to go out there and play and execute,” Thompson said. “It’s not just Zach Ertz that they have, they’ve got (Wendell) Smallwood coming off a good game, they’ve got Wentz, they’ve got Alshon (Jeffery) who came off a good game, and you’ve got Nelson Agholor. So you’ve got a couple of guys around there that everyone needs to focus on.

“It’s not just one guy. They’ve got a whole great offense, especially with their offensive line. So we’ve just got to go out there and get back to our brand of football.”

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 2:38 PM.