The Carolina Panthers had one of the NFL’s best (and worst) cornerbacks in Week 1
Donte Jackson may have sat out most of the Panthers’ 34-30 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday with an ankle injury, but that didn’t stop Carolina from having one of the NFL best cornerbacks in Week 1.
Rasul Douglas, who replaced the injured Jackson in the first quarter, was rated by advanced analytics website Pro Football Focus as being the ninth-best cornerback in the league last week, given an overall defensive grade of 75.6 out of 100 (tied with Chicago’s Jaylon Johnson). His 83.2 grade in coverage ranked fifth-best (targeted three times, allowing two completions for an average of 12 yards with one pass breakup). Where he struggled was in his 26 snaps played against the run, missing two tackles and grading out at 47.4 in run defense.
While Douglas, who was signed off waivers last week from the Philadelphia Eagles, played well, the Panthers’ other starting cornerback did not. Rookie Troy Pride Jr.’s defensive rating ranked 97 out of 100 cornerbacks in Week 1, coming in at 29.9. He didn’t miss a tackle (had five with two assists), but he was targeted six times in the passing game, and Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed all of those attempts for 106 yards and one touchdown. He played 31 passing snaps.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Monday that he wouldn’t know until Wednesday whether Jackson may be healthy enough to return for this week’s game at Tampa Bay. It will be the Panthers’ first game against Tom Brady in a Buccaneers uniform, and having their top corner back would be an added boost for a team that’s a 9-point underdog.
Here are some other highlights from the Panthers’ PFF grades in Week 1:
▪ Teddy Bridgewater’s offensive rating ranked 27 out of 32 (55.8) quarterbacks. Interestingly, he completed 4 of 6 pass attempts when blitzed for an average of 14.3 yards per attempt, which was better than the 65.5% completion and 8.3 YPA when not under pressure. Eight of his pass attempts were to the right side, 19 were in the middle of the field and only 6 were to the left side. He went 1 of 3 on attempts of 20 or more yards (75-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson).
▪ Guard John Miller, who played 67 snaps on the offensive line and five on special teams plays, ranked 30th among guards (67.7). He allowed one QB hurry and one QB pressure in 41 passing snaps played.
▪ Curtis Samuel, who’s in his contract year, continues to struggle. PFF graded him 91 out of 105 wide receivers (53.9 offense grade). He was graded better in the run game (63.1) than as a receiver (53.2). He had five receptions on seven targets (one drop) for an average of 7.6 yards per catch, but he was immediately tackled after every reception, averaging one yard after catch.
▪ Nothing spectacular about Christian McCaffrey’s performance. He graded as the 18th-best running back overall (67) and 11th in run grade (70). He played 65 total snaps, lining up 57 times in the back field, four in the slot and four as a wide out; 40 of those were passing plays.
