The Panthers are becoming masters of the fake punt. You’ve got to see this
The Carolina Panthers are becoming pretty good at this fake punt thing.
In their last game against Atlanta, Carolina showed off its fake punt prowess on a nationally televised Thursday night game.
Jeremy Chinn took the snap as punter Joseph Charlton faked as though the ball had gotten away from him. Carolina was down 19-14 and took a chance on fourth and 9 at its 32.
That worked. Chinn ran for an easy first down.
Sunday, Carolina used one against Kansas City.
It worked again.
This time, the Panthers converted a fake early in the second quarter from its 45. Charlton hit Brandon Zylstra over the middle for 28 yards. Kansas City was pressuring hard on defense and the call worked perfectly. Carolina got a first down at the Chiefs 28.
Three plays later, Curtis Samuel took a flip pass in the backfield from Teddy Bridgewater and ran 14 yards around right end, getting a great block from Mike Davis as he neared the goal line. That gave the Panthers a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Of course, all the fake tries haven’t worked. The Observer’s Scott Fowler was especially critical of a failed attempt in a 31-17 loss at Tampa Bay in September.
Down 14-0, the Panthers had the ball at the Tampa 37. The Panthers took star Christian McCaffrey out of the game and tried a fake on fourth-and-2. It didn’t work.
But perhaps fakes a better option than actually punting. When the Panthers did finally punt for the first time Sunday in Kansas City, Charlton shanked it off his foot and it went a whole 21 yards.
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
