Panthers report card: Special teams at bottom of class again after Graham Gano miss

Grading the Carolina Panthers (6-5) in Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks (6-5):

A Quarterback: Cam Newton was perfect in the first half, completing 14 passes on 14 attempts for 159 yards, and finished 25 of 30 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. This doesn’t get an A-plus because of the interception.

A+ Running backs: Christian McCaffrey became the first player in franchise history to have both 100 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in the same game. He finished with 112 receiving yards on 11 catches and a touchdown, and 125 rushing yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

A+ Receivers: There weren’t any sure drops by any receiver, and DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, Jarius Wright, Torrey Smith and Greg Olsen did a great job complementing each other and playing fast.

A Offensive line: Newton didn’t get sacked or hit and the line graded the road for McCaffrey’s 125-yard rushing game.

C Defensive line: In the first half the Panthers’ defensive line got some nice pressure and stuffed the run throughout the game. But when the pass rush fizzled, the secondary got burned. More complementary play is needed.

B Linebackers: Carolina’s run defense vastly improved this week, allowing just 75 rushing yards.

F Secondary: Each of Carolina’s cornerbacks gave up a catch that traveled over 20 yards in the air. Those were crucial to the fate of the Panthers on Sunday.

F Special teams: It is simply unacceptable for Graham Gano to miss crucial field goals in consecutive games.

B Coaching: I was puzzled by the run calls in the red zone early in the game, though I agreed that Newton should be used as a runner in short-yardage situations. I was more so confused by the identical calls on third and fourth down, and the shoving of McCaffrey into the defense’s gut on back-to-back calls. Still, the blitz calls married well to the defensive rhythm and Norv Turner called a great game on the offensive side, other than red zone issues.