Difference between Panthers being 6-1 and 3-4 is three stalled game-winning drives
The Panthers weren’t even supposed to be average this season.
Especially their defense. With only four returning starters, and a defense relying on young players in Matt Rhule’s first season, it appeared — before the season began — the Panthers were heading for the bottom of the NFC standings.
And there were the Panthers in Week 7, one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the division, and half a game behind the Saints, with a chance to tie or win the game.
But as the Panthers failed to close out yet another game, it became apparent that they just aren’t ready to win the division. And the Saints, who won 27-24, showed they still have the Panthers’ number. Carolina fell to 3-4 after their second consecutive loss.
“Credit to them. Obviously, they are a great football team,” Rhule said. “Drew Brees was great at quarterback as he is. I thought (Alvin) Kamara played a great game.”
While the Panthers have been in every game this season, they have not come from behind or won tight games. The Panthers are 2-3 in games decided by one touchdown or less. But the two wins were games where the Panthers held a two-possession lead.
Against the Raiders, Bears and the Saints, the Panthers had chances to tie or take the lead. They came up short all three times. The final drive of the Raiders game ended in a failed fourth-down conversion. The final drive of the Bears game ended in an interception. And the Saints drive ended in a missed 65-yard field goal.
For the Panthers to be a consistent winner, they must finish games.
The Saints showed they could get a stop when needed. On third-and-11 with just over 2 minute remaining and New Orleans up by 3, the Saints ran an all-out blitz. Defensive end Marcus Davenport ran a stunt to the inside, found himself matched up with running back Mike Davis, who could not block him, and sacked Bridgewater.
The Panthers consistency on both sides of the ball has also been a problem. When their defense has played well, their offense hasn’t. On Sunday, the roles were reversed. Against the Saints, it was the Panthers’ offense that played well, while their defense did not. Saints running backs Kamara and Latavius Murray combined for 130 yards rushing. And Brees completed 80.6% of his passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns.
The only flaw in the Saints’ offense was in the second quarter, when Panthers defensive end Brian Burns dipped under New Orleans left tackle James Hurst’s arms and strip-sacked Brees for a turnover.
But it was the Panthers’ next defensive stance that illustrated how far they have to go. After the Panthers took a 17-14 lead on an eight-play, 65-yard drive, they left 1 minute and 44 seconds on the the clock.
All Brees and the Saints needed was 1:39 to drive 75 yards for a touchdown to take a 21-17 lead into halftime.
The Saints didn’t face a third down on that drive; though, that probably would not have mattered. The Saints were 12 for 14 on third downs Sunday. It was a deflating end to a half where the momentum might have shifted.
“They just executed better than we did,” said Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson, who finished with a team-high 13 tackles but also missed a couple. “It was no reason, we just have to do better. They can’t go 100%. We have to get off the field and get our offense the ball back.”
After Sunday’s loss, the Panthers’ schedule doesn’t get much easier. While they play the 1-6 Falcons on Thursday, they face the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City in Week 9, and play the Bucs, who won again Sunday, in Week 10. Those games will arguably be their biggest tests.
As for the tests they’ve taken thus far, the Panthers haven’t passed.
“You’ve got to be able to turn the page fast in this league,” Bridgewater said. “We’ve got an Atlanta team coming into town that I’m pretty sure after we played them, they felt the same way that they may have been one or two plays away from tying the game or beating us, so we have to make sure that we have the right mindset going into this game that nothing’s going to be handed to us.”
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+ Fowler: Teddy Bridgewater was good for Panthers against Saints — but you can’t take that sack
This story was originally published October 25, 2020 at 9:12 PM.
