How Ronald Jones II ran for a 98-yard touchdown vs. the Panthers and changed the game
Jeremy Chinn laid on the ground, flat on his stomach, after he made one last effort to stop Tampa Bay running back Ronald Jones II.
But as he looked up, Jones was still running to the end zone. Jones had scored a 98-yard rushing touchdown with about eight minutes left in the third quarter, becoming only the fourth player in NFL history to do so.
Jones’ run was also the longest play from scrimmage that the Panthers have ever allowed. And it was a turning point in Sunday’s 46-23 loss to the Buccaneers.
Before that, the Panthers trailed by three points and had just pinned the Buccaneers inside their own five-yard line with a punt by Joe Charlton.
But it didn’t matter.
On the first play of the drive, the Bucs lined up in a goal line formation. Jones received handoff from Tom Brady in the end zone, and ran left through a big hole. After getting past the line, he had only one defender — Tre Boston — in front of him. Jones avoided Boston’s tackle and ran free.
“I gotta help make that tackle and get him down,” Boston said.
Chinn nearly caught up to Jones at the Panthers’ 30-yard line, but could not bring him down, either, and Jones scored.
“We all knew what play they were running,” Panthers cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “Shaq (Thompson) only screamed it to us 30 times in the huddle.”
But the Panthers (3-7), who have now lost five consecutive games, still couldn’t stop it.
The play was deflating and set off a “a slow methodical bleed on defense,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said.
“I watched the momentum shift for us,” Douglas said. “We get a great punt, and then a touchdown, and it was like, (expletive).
“We can’t let that happen. Not on the first play (of the drive).”
The Panthers were trying to blitz on the right side, Rhule said, and one of the players missed an assignment, creating that hole.
After that touchdown, Teddy Bridgewater threw an interception to Jason Pierre-Paul at the Carolina 38-yard line. The Bucs answered with a field goal. On the Panthers’ next drive, the Bucs stopped the Panthers on third down, and instead of kicking the ball away, the Panthers attempted an unsuccessful fake punt. And again, the Bucs answered with another field goal to extend their lead to 32-17.
“We’re at a stage right now where we just have to kind of do our job, and everyone has to be right to be successful, and if someone doesn’t do their assignment, then you need someone to make a play on it for you,” Rhule said of the 98-yard run. “And we weren’t able to get them down.”
The run was similar to one the Panthers allowed in Week 2 against the Bucs. On that play, it was Leonard Fournette, who ran 46 yards, untouched for a touchdown, late in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers have struggled against the run in recent years. In 2019, they allowed an NFL-high 31 rushing touchdowns, eight more than the next team. Entering Sunday, they were tied for the second-most rushing touchdowns allowed this season (12).
The Bucs out-gained the Panthers 322-35 in the second half, and outscored them 29-6. Jones finished with 192 yards rushing and a touchdown on 23 carries. It was the most rushing yards they have allowed against one rusher this season.
“Completely unacceptable from every member of that locker room,” Rhule said, “Player, coach, completely unacceptable.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 6:02 PM.
