Grading the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 loss to Las Vegas Raiders
It took three quarters, but the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff finally found out who makes the team go.
Christian McCaffrey.
By then, it was too late.
After a first-quarter touchdown run Sunday, Carolina stopped going to McCaffrey as often and fell behind two touchdowns. When they did finally utilize their star player, the Panthers took a brief lead in the fourth before the Las Vegas Raiders came back to win 34-30.
It might be a long season for the Panthers’ defense. After an average first half, the unit came apart in the second.
Two three-and-outs for the Panthers offense at the start the second half allowed Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and running back Josh Jacobs to get on a roll.
It wasn’t the best start for first-year Panthers coach Matt Rhule, whose teams have a history of starting slow before getting better. But there was some promise.
Here is this week’s report card:
PASSING OFFENSE
B-minus: For the most part, Teddy Bridgewater had a good game in his Panthers debut. The third quarter was not good for Bridgewater or the Panthers as a whole. The Carolina QB made some nice throws, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson in the fourth quarter that gave the Panthers a brief lead.
Bridgewater made two bad throws but was accurate for most of the game. He completed 22 of 34 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. He did not throw an interception, although a couple of passes were nearly picked off.
The offensive line struggled in the third quarter but held up in the fourth. That allowed Bridgewater more time to find his receivers, including McCaffrey, who through three quarters was only targeted three times.
RUSHING OFFENSE
B: Carolina’s running game started slow. When the Panthers did feed McCaffrey the ball, he was able to get going. He finished with 23 rushes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. While he didn’t reach 100 yards rushing on the day, he did enough to put the Panthers in a position to win. McCaffrey finished fourth in the league in rushing yards last season. He’s still good.
PASSING DEFENSE
D-plus:The Raiders were able to move the ball easily downfield in the second half, exposing the Panthers’ inexperienced secondary. It should be noted that Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return.
Rookie corner Troy Pride Jr. struggled to stay in front of his man. He gave up a 45-yard pass that likely would have been a touchdown if not for Tre Boston’s stop at the two-yard line. Pride was later beat on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Carr to wide receiver Nelson Agholor.
Panthers cornerback Rasul Douglas, who was claimed off waivers last week, made a huge stop on third down to force the Raiders to punt and give the Panthers a chance to take the lead with 9:27 left. Douglas deflected a Carr pass intended for tight end Darren Waller.
Agholor got one step on Pride and that was all he needed. The Panthers defensive line also got little to no pressure on Carr, who was not sacked.
RUSHING DEFENSE
D-minus: While Jacobs didn’t have many huge runs for the Raiders, he was effective. He finished with 93 rushing yards on 25 carriers and three touchdowns. Carolina just couldn’t bring him down. The Panthers were terrible last season at stopping the run. They gave up a league-high 31 rushing touchdowns, and it didn’t look much better Sunday.
SPECIAL TEAMS
D-minus: Kicker Joey Slye missed an extra point, punter Joe Charlton outkicked his coverage and the Panthers allowed 18.5 yards per punt return. Slye did finish 3-for-3 on field goal attempts.
The one bright spot was returner Pharoh Cooper, who averaged 27.3 yards on kick returns and 14.5 yards on punts. The Panthers signed Cooper, a former Pro Bowler who starred at South Carolina, this offseason. Carolina in recent years has struggled to find a consistent return game.
COACHING
D-plus: The coaching staff put Carolina in a position to win but made some questionable decisions all game. It appeared the team forgot to use its best weapon, McCaffrey, in the second and third quarters. The running back, who had 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in 2019, was targeted only three times through three quarters.
The Panthers coaches used McCaffrey more frequently late in the game and, as a result, scored a touchdown early in the fourth to cut the Raiders lead 27-22. It was McCaffrey’s second rushing touchdown of the game.
They took the lead on a 75-yard pass from Bridgewater to Anderson, but a short time later gave the lead back up.
The Carolina staff did not do a good job running the two-minute drill at the end of the game. The Panthers ran 37 seconds off the clock after McCaffrey failed to get a first down on third-and-four. And on fourth down, Carolina decided to run it with fullback Alex Armah instead of McCaffrey. The fourth-down conversion fell short and the Panthers lost the game.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 4:12 PM.
