Panthers mailbag: Get-right game for secondary? And who returns punts in Tampa Bay?

Things are looking precarious for the Carolina Panthers (6-5) at the moment.

The team is on a three-game losing streak, with four of their five losses coming in one-possession games. The Panthers are 1-4 on the road, with back-to-back away games coming up, starting at Tampa Bay on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Carolina needs a get-right game. And according to reports out of Tampa Bay, the organization is literally giving away tickets to Sunday’s game as the Buccaneers (4-7) continue to founder.

So this could be a great opportunity for the Panthers to, ah, “right the ship.”

Let’s get going.

Question from @TLSPanthers: What is the Panthers’ all-time record after a three-game losing streak?

I’ll go ahead and bite on this, although I’m going to limit it to the “Cam Newton Era,” since 2011. The Panthers have had three-game losing streaks in five seasons from then until this season.

In 2011, they went 5-5 after a three-game losing streak. In 2012, they went 6-5. In 2014, they went 5-4 (including playoffs), and in 2016 they went 5-5 following a three-game losing streak. All total, Carolina is 21-19 since 2011 following a three-game losing streak.

Question from @PanthersFan_Afr: Anything different in practice with special teams this week? Graham (Gano) doing anything extra? Also, who is on returns with (receiver Damiere Byrd) on injured reserve?

After Panthers placekicker Graham Gano missed two important kicks in two consecutive games, Carolina brought in a handful of free agent kickers for a workout on Tuesday. None of them, of course, are better overall than Gano. But the tactic seemed to be a bit of a behind-the-scenes motivational spur for Gano, who head coach Ron Rivera told Sirius XM NFL Radio this week had a case of the “yips.”

Special teams is all about consistency, so it didn’t look like Gano mixed anything up at practices this week. That’s a good thing, considering his history of accuracy.

As far as returner is concerned, receiver DJ Moore popped a couple of solid returns last week after Byrd left the game with a broken arm. Though Moore is still a rookie, I’d expect coaches are confident enough in his conditioning and ability at this point to let him take a couple more cracks at it. They could also use receiver Curtis Samuel and reserve running back Kenjon Barner for the job.

Question from @CJWinterberg (shortened for clarity): Is (Tampa Bay receiver) Mike Evans the matchup James Bradberry needs to get right?

Carolina’s No. 1 cornerback has struggled with consistency in the second half of the season, and it all started when he gave up a 75-yard touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster in a whopper of a loss to Pittsburgh in Week 10. In each of the past three weeks, Bradberry has given up at least one play of 20-plus yards.

But before the Panthers’ loss to Pittsburgh, Bradberry was having the best start to a season in his career, capped by a complete shutdown of Evans, the Buccaneers’ top wideout, in Week 9.

Bradberry needs a “get-right” game, and already has some built-in confidence from his last matchup against Evans. It could be a great opportunity for him and the Panthers’ secondary to get back on track — and coaches and the front office will be watching closely to see what he does with it.

Carolina received an interesting twist on Friday, when speedy receiver DeSean Jackson was ruled out for Sunday’s game. No. 2 cornerback Donte Jackson had an excellent game against Jackson in the teams’ last outing.

DeSean Jackson’s absence means more time for Chris Godwin, who, while fast, is more of the physical, jump-ball receiver that Bradberry usually covers. But with him on Evans, Godwin becomes a different type of test for Donte Jackson, who has been rehabilitating a slight quadriceps injury all week.

Question from @THE_billyG_: If we drop the next two games against the Buccaneers and Browns (essentially no playoff hope), do you see us sitting (quarterback Cam Newton) the rest of the season?

Absolutely not.

Question from @kbopp6: If the Panthers were in Super Smash Bros., who would they be?

I was more of a Mario Kart girl myself, so I can’t speak with too much authority on Super Smash Bros.

But in Mario Kart world? Offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s double-reverse play using DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel is most definitely the “blue tortoise shell” of the Panthers’ offense.