Is Panthers’ no-huddle offense here to stay? It depends on rhythm of game, Ron Rivera says

Trailing in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Carolina Panthers found their rhythm.

Needing points in a hurry, they ditched the plodding offense that put them in a 17-0 hole in favor of a faster-paced, no-huddle scheme.

The result? Carolina scored 21 unanswered points, completing the largest fourth quarter comeback in franchise history — and head coach Ron Rivera couldn’t help but praise the change in tempo during his press conference Monday.

But he’s not ready to make it his team’s new identity.

“I think it’s situational. Certain circumstances dictate a lot of the things that happen, more so than anything else,” Rivera said. “Because there have been times when we start the game in no-huddle and go three-and-out. I just think it’s situational. Do we need to look at it? Most certainly, but I don’t think that’s going to drive who we are as an offense.”

After a nine-minute Philadelphia drive limited their margin for error, the Panthers went 80 yards in 11 plays for their first score of the game, Curtis Samuel’s 14-yard touchdown scamper, taking 4:58 off the clock.

Carolina operated exclusively out of the no-huddle on the next drive, needing just 2:44 for Cam Newton to find Devin Funchess in the front corner of the end zone.

It was only one drive, but it provided something almost as important as the points that came from it — rhythm.

Newton largely struggled through three quarters, completing 9-of-17 passes for 68 yards, but he connected on all eight of his passes for 79 yards during Carolina’s uptempo drive.

“I think he does well when he goes out there and he’s flowing,” wide receiver Torrey Smith said. “Like most quarterbacks, he’s a rhythm guy, so whenever we get in a rhythm, we kind of get rolling. It’s definitely a great advantage for us when we use can use it and it’s great when you can use it when you’re not forced to.

“Obviously, we were forced to, but it’s a great tool that we have.”

Rivera agreed.

“When you get in a rhythm, it really helps offense movement,” Rivera said. “Ball control is a rhythm. I think a lot of offensive play-callers will tell you that. Same with defensive play-callers, you get into a rhythm whether you’re calling pressures or coverages, once you get a flow and it gets going very well, you can just rattle it off.”

As attractive as it looks when it’s run correctly, Rivera said there are some clear disadvantages to the no-huddle offense, which is part of the reason he’s hesitant to dedicate the Panthers’ philosophy around it.

Ideally, Rivera wants his defense as rested as possible, and an inefficient uptempo offense runs the risk of overworking the other side of the ball.

“If you go three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out, next thing you know, your defense is constantly out there,” he said. “It can wear your defense out as well. It is most certainly a team thing and I think a lot of it is situational and by rhythm.

“I believe Norv has a good handle on it, I think what he did yesterday was right along the lines of trying to create some energy.”

The Panthers ran no-huddle sparingly before Week 7, and barring some mid-week revelation, it likely won’t be a major part of future game plans. Rivera and company seem content knowing they can run it.

As Smith said, they just hope they won’t have to.

This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 4:43 PM.