Too deep a hole: Panthers CB Donte Jackson, defense struggle in loss to Seahawks
Donte Jackson was the subject of conversation after last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons because of what he said.
Jackson will be again be in the spotlight after the Carolina Panthers’ 30-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at home, extending Carolina’s losing streak to six games. But this time the focus will instead shift solely to his performance on the field.
The second-year cornerback was responsible for at least one of Seattle’s three first-half touchdowns and far too often was on the wrong side of big plays. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson took advantage of him early and often, including on an impressive 44-yard pass to Tyler Lockett in the first quarter.
Last week Jackson questioned the play-calling. It seems all of the talk surrounding his actions started making him overthink what he was doing on the field Sunday. Interim head coach Perry Fewell was seen talking to Jackson on the sideline after he gave up a DK Metcalf touchdown to put the Seahawks up 13-0.
“(I was) trying to regroup and have a big game and capitalize from last week. Got away from myself a little bit. But I was able to calm down and got rolling. Coach was able to talk to me on the sideline, make sure I still had my confidence and get ready to roll,” Jackson said. “My teammates, my coaches, fans, everybody is used to me making plays. And when I’m not doing it, it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating for them, frustrating for me, frustrating for my teammates and my coaches.”
Frustrated enough that Fewell admitted after the game that he did consider taking Jackson out.
“I considered (replacing Jackson today) and he was a little frustrated at times out there, and I know he was trying to play hard,” Fewell said. “He was trying to do the right things. He was just so hyped and excited about what he was doing out there that he kind of just lost his way a little bit. I just felt like if we could steer him in the right direction, he would play better.”
Coming into the game, Jackson had been responsible for four touchdowns this season in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus, secon-most on the team. After appearing to be partly responsible for two touchdowns against the Falcons last week, including a 93-yard score, Jackson’s struggles extended into the following week.
But he wasn’t the only one. The Panthers defense had a hard time stopping Wilson overall. He completed 20-of-26 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Carolina also continued its recent struggles to get takeaways. Tre Boston intercepted wide receiver Josh Gordon on a trick play Sunday and has been responsible for the Panthers’ only two takeaways over the last six games. Only three teams have had fewer takeaways over that stretch. Carolina has had 16 turnovers on offense in those six games.
Twice against Seattle it had appeared that Carolina had turnovers that were then overturned or called off. In the second quarter, the Panthers looked to have strip-sacked Wilson and recovered the ball, but the play was called back as Gerald McCoy jumped offsides.
Later in the second quarter, running back C.J. Prosise appeared to have fumbled without being touched, giving the Panthers the ball at the Seattle 15-yard line with Boston on the recovery. Instead, former Seahawks first-round pick Bruce Irvin was ruled to have touched Prosise just briefly, marking him down and keeping the ball in Seattle’s possession.
“We needed every break,” Fewell said. “We had opportunities to get some turnovers, we capitalized on a couple turnovers. But we just didn’t make them pay for their mistakes, and we made some mistakes and gave them an opportunity to score early in the ballgame, and when you get behind early in the ballgame against a good football team, a 10-3 football team, and you’re a struggling football team, that’s tough. That’s really tough.”
Jackson calmed down in the second half and played better, but it was the early hole that the Panthers got in that had them out of sorts. It’s the big deficits that have forced them to come from behind throughout the six-game losing streak. Over the past five games, the Panthers have only led in once (vs. Washington).
The cornerback’s performance Sunday didn’t help change that tide.
“(Jackson’s) a great player. I see it in him,” Boston said. “There are little things we can help him with. … We don’t expect him to be second-year, all-world. We expect him to play good ball for us. I think he’s playing good ball. Can he be special and be our playmaker? I think he can. I think that will progress him through the years to come. This is year two for him. Slow down.”
Slowing down and not getting caught up in the moment might be exactly the message that Jackson needs.
“It’s not necessarily a coverage problem. It’s more of a ‘me’ problem,” Jackson said. “Just gotta stay on my guys, make plays on the ball, man. People notice when you’re not making plays on the ball … it’s all on me. I’m going to go out there and play my last two games as hard as I can … every time I’m out there, I’m trying to make a play.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
