Shaq Thompson ‘cursed out’ his teammates. What to take away from the Panthers’ loss
Not even Rasul Douglas said he could repeat what Shaq Thompson told his teammates in the locker room after their 46-23 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.
“I’m not going to curse every other word to the media,” Douglas said, just a minute after dropping his own F-bomb.
The 23-point loss was the Panthers’ largest of the season. It was an embarrassing performance and had everyone expressing in their feelings.
And rightfully so. The score was tied 17-17 at halftime. The Panthers were playing well enough to win.
But after halftime, the Panthers became undone.
Here are four takeaways from the Panthers’ loss:
1. Panthers players looking within
The Bucs’ offense did whatever it wanted to do against the Panthers defense.
The Panthers were out-gained 322-35 in the second half, and outscored 29-6. So in the locker room, after the game, Thompson let his teammates know how he felt.
“He basically told everybody to look in the mirror,” Douglas said. “Like the coaches have been preaching all week: ‘details, leverage, assignment and winning your one-on-ones.’ None of us did any of that. We all did bad.
“And he basically cursed everybody out. Said we didn’t fight hard enough. We didn’t want it more.”
Thompson’s message apparently resonated with his teammates. A number of players, including Douglas, said they took personal responsibility for the loss.
It was the first time this season that the Panthers looked overmatched. They had been in every game until the end, including in Week 2 when they played the Bucs the first time.
But not in Week 10.
And after Ronald Jones II scored on a 98-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to make it 26-17, it felt like the game was over. Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw an interception when the Panthers got the ball back, and the Bucs added to their lead.
“We know we’re a team good enough to win,” Douglas said. “That’s what kills us the most.”
Panthers safety Tre Boston echoed Douglas’ sentiments.
“For us to go out there — we’re a team that is in the game regardless, no matter who we play — and for us to go out there and get beat like that by these guys, we know we’re better than that,” Boston said.
2. Third quarters continue to be an issue
The Panthers have played 10 games this season, and in six of those they failed to scored in the third quarter. In fact, their season high in points scored in the third quarter is seven points, which they’ve done only twice.
While it’s unclear why the Panthers can’t get anything going in the third quarter, it’s clear they haven’t made the necessary halftime adjustments. Those slow starts in the third quarter have both allowed teams to climb back in games when the Panthers have had a lead, or made leads tougher to catch in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers led the Chiefs at halftime, before allowing them to take command of that game.
“We’re used to being in fights, being in the game throughout the game, and in the third quarter we didn’t do a good job,” Boston said. “We had the opportunities there but we didn’t execute.”
3. Teddy Bridgewater’s injury didn’t appear serious
Bridgewater suffered an injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game after being sacked by linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter. The Panthers ruled it a knee injury, but coach Matt Rhule said he didn’t know anything more than that.
Bridgewater walked off the field into the locker room on his own power but did not return. He was evaluated after the game.
The Panthers put in P.J. Walker as his replacement for the second time this season, and for the second time, Walker struggled. If Walker or backup Will Grier were to have to play, the Panthers would likely have to alter their offense to match their skill sets.
Walker was 2 of 4 for 12 yards, but he took a terrible 16-yard sack.
4. Third downs will continue to be a problem
The Panthers have struggled to get teams off the field on third downs all season, and it wasn’t any better Sunday. The Bucs were 10 of 16 on third-down attempts. One of those failed conversions was a kneel down at the end of the game.
Many of the Bucs’ third downs were third-and-short. But they also converted on third-and-11 or longer twice. The Bucs converted on third-and-2, -7, -5, -1, -1, -11, -1, -19, -1, -3.
The Panthers couldn’t get off the field.
“We have to get better at them,” Rhule said, when asked about stopping the Bucs on third down. “No one feels sorry for us, and as much as I hate losing by that many points, it’s the same as losing by one. You come back next week, and we have to continue to improve them. We made some key stops late in the game. We blitzed them. We hit them.
“We have to be better. We just have to be better.”
Required reading
+ Analysis: Panthers’ 5-game losing streak isn’t hard to explain. We see it every week
+ Teddy Bridgewater is injured. If serious, Panthers’ miserable 2020 is about to get worse
+ How Ronald Jones II ran for a 98-yard touchdown vs. the Panthers and changed the game
+ The Panthers can pretend all they want. The truth is, they’re just not very good
+ Panthers report card: Carolina failed, failed and failed again vs. Buccaneers
