5 things Panthers loss taught us: They need a line that can protect Teddy Bridgewater
For the second consecutive week, the Carolina Panthers looked like the team most people expected them to look like before the season began.
Young and often out of sync.
The Panthers lost to the 1-6 Atlanta Falcons at home Thursday night, 25-17, dropping them to 3-5 on the season for their third consecutive loss.
Here are five takeaways from the Panthers’ loss to the Falcons:
1. Keeping Teddy Bridgewater upright needs to be a priority
Bridgewater often gets much of the blame for losses, and at times he’s made mistakes — costly interceptions late in games and questionable decisions. But without him, the Panthers wouldn’t have three wins.
And that was never more clear than the six plays he missed after suffering a neck injury in the third quarter. The Panthers ran it well on two of those plays, but when they were forced to pass it, backup P.J. Walker struggled to connect with his receivers.
Wide receiver Curtis Samuel said he could sense the energy being zapped when Bridgewater went down.
“Everybody felt that,” Samuel said. “Any time your quarterback goes down like that, nobody is happy. Everybody is trying to get at those guys because we’re trying to protect our players, especially our quarterback. He leads our team.
“We didn’t like the hit. All we could do is move forward and try to get things going.”
The circumstances in which Walker had to come in — down by five points in the second half — were difficult. But it did not excuse the inaccurate passes he threw to open receivers. He completed 1 of 4 passes for 3 yards.
Bridgewater’s injury occurred as he attempted to scramble for a first down on third-and-7 after being flushed out of the pocket. Falcons defensive end Dante Fowler stuck his leg out to trip him, and defensive end Charles Harris hit him around his head/neck area after Bridgewater fell to the ground.
Bridgewater stayed on the ground for a few minutes before walking off on his own power. He was checked for a concussion and cleared.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Bridgewater returned and seemed fine after the game. Mike Davis said Bridgewater earned his respect by doing that.
But those six plays without him made one thing clear: The Panthers won’t win without Bridgewater.
2. Panthers doing all they can with secondary, but it’s not working
One of the biggest questions for the Panthers after training camp was their depth at cornerback, safety, linebacker and defensive line.
Behind the starters at those position groups, the Panthers lacked experience. With injuries at two of the three positions, the lack of depth and experience is being felt, especially in the secondary.
The Panthers are in dire need of help.
Starting cornerback Rasul Douglas, who led the Panthers in pass deflections after Week 6, has been on the COVID-19/reserve list for the past two weeks and hasn’t played.
Veteran cornerback Eli Apple, who had finally returned from multiple injuries in training camp, was released earlier this week. And Donte Jackson continues to deal with a turf-toe injury that hasn’t quite gone away. He re-injured it Thursday.
“Not having Rasul (Douglas) obviously is a big thing for us,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. “Donte (Jackson) made that great pick and unfortunately was down after that.”
On Thursday, the Panthers started undrafted rookie Sam Franklin at safety in place of Juston Burris, who is out with a rib injury. They also rotated cornerback Corn Elder and undrafted rookie Myles Hartfield at safety. Seventh-round draft pick Stantley Thomas-Oliver also played some, and even made a nice tackle.
The Panthers tried everything they could to make up for the injuries.
Before their game against the Saints last week, the Panthers were top 10 in the league in pass defense. But with their recent injuries, they have struggled.
Drew Brees had a monster game against the Panthers. And while Matt Ryan’s numbers weren’t eye-popping Thursday, he was largely effective. He made timely throws, picked up huge chunk plays, and scrambled for first downs, including a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
3. Defense not getting off the field early enough
The Panthers’ biggest issue against the Saints was getting off the field on third down. The Saints were 12 of 14 on third downs against Carolina. They ran long drives and kept the Panthers’ offense, which was also having success, off the field.
The Falcons apparently did their homework.
Atlanta had the ball for most of the first half and ran 19 more plays than the Panthers did (72-53). One reason the Falcons were on the field for so long was because of penalties. Carolina committed a number of defensive penalties, including defensive holding.
“Five penalties in the second half,” Rhule said. “We have to get off the field better. Extended too many drives. We held them to 3 of 9 on third down, at least that is what my sheet says, but extended too many drives with defensive penalties.”
The Falcons also had six trips to the red zone. That’s too much, even if the Panthers did force the Falcons to kick four field goals in those six trips. Those field goals were the difference in the loss.
4. Inconsistency of DJ Moore is baffling
Moore was expected to be the No. 1 wide receiver entering this season after having a Pro Bowl-type 2019. But while Moore has had his moments this season, he has also been inconsistent.
It’s obvious Moore has the talent. Before Thursday, Moore had 93 yards in each of his last three games. But he was absent until the fourth quarter. He finished with two catches for 55 yards and was targeted six times. He caught only 33% of the passes thrown his way.
The Panthers have a number of weapons in Robby Anderson, their top receiver, Moore, and Curtis Samuel, who has proven to be their most clutch player. With so many weapons, the Panthers’ offense should be putting up a lot of points each week.
But Moore tends to have spurts where he is not involved.
5. Curtis Samuel is proving himself
Samuel has proven he is one of the Panthers most reliable targets. On third down, he has been nearly unstoppable. Early in the season, it seemed like the Panthers were having trouble trying to get him involved.
But he’s had success recently. The Panther go to him often on third downs. And when teams double him, that leaves other players open. Samuel continued his success Thursday night. He had a 12-yard rushing touchdown and caught a 29-yard pass off a fleaker from Bridgewater for a score.
Samuel has 18 catches for 166 yards, and 53 rushing yards in his last four games. He also has three total touchdowns in that span. In the game he was out with a knee injury — against the Bears — the Panthers missed him immensely. Samuel struggled to find a consistent role in his first three NFL seasons. He’s finding it now.
Samuel is in the last year of his rookie deal and will be looking to get paid in the offseason. Even if it’s not by the Panthers, if he continues to perform well, someone will pay him.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
