Burns, Brown and Chinn: Yea, Panthers can build a championship defense around them
In the 2020 NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers invested in the defensive side of the ball on a historic level.
Seven players selected all for one side of the ball. The young defense’s performance against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday was a good reminder and sign of what they have in those players, in addition to other standouts.
The Panthers have found players who they can build this defense around — second-year defensive end Brian Burns, rookie defensive tackle Derrick Brown and hybrid defender Jeremy Chinn. All three played a significant role in how quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were limited in the second half on Saturday night.
At times throughout the season, it has been hard to see how those pieces are starting to come together. The defense struggled at the start of the year and has had some up-and-down performances.
In the first half against Green Bay, the defense largely did not play well. Rogers moved down the field with ease. But after head coach Matt Rhule “got after the team” during halftime, the defense came out and looked like a different unit. It found success with a four-man rush and gave the team a chance to win the game.
“To be quite honest with you, I was not very happy at halftime. There’s a certain effort and physicality that we want to play with, that we played with all year, that we didn’t play with in the first half, (but) we certainly played with in the second half,” Rhule said. “(My speech) was probably more about being physical (while doing your job than) anything else.”
The Packers had 49 net yards in the second half, the second-fewest in a second half for a Packers team since 1996, and scored just three points.
Rodgers’ 143 passing yards were the eighth-fewest of the his career in games he has started. He was sacked a season-high five times, despite the Packers allowing only 13 coming into the game. Wide receiver Davante Adams was held scoreless for the third time this year and had 42 receiving yards, second-fewest of the season. Rodgers referred to the defense as “strange” after the game and described the Panthers as having a lot of “college principles.”
“Tonight, as fun as the first couple quarters were, it’s not going to be the easiest night of sleep thinking about the second half,” Rodgers said after the game.
That’s how you know the Panthers did their job in the last two quarters.
Burns has had a Pro Bowl-worthy year with eight sacks, 20 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. Two of those sacks came Saturday night. He’s the Panther who has most consistently been around the quarterback and makes the rest of the line look better. He had a solid rookie year while dealing with injury, but he has thrived in defensive coordinator Phil Snow’s scheme this year.
Looking ahead to what this defense can be wasn’t on his mind Saturday night, but he did acknowledge its potential.
“I think we’ve got a good defense now to be honest. It just comes down to those — when we came out in the second half it was completely different,” Burns said. “I don’t know what clicked in everybody’s head, but we just came out with a different mentality. But I feel like we’ve got a good defense now. We cut out these small errors, I feel like we can be great. For real.”
Of course, Chinn, the Panthers’ defensive rookie of the year candidate, will also be an important player for the long term. Chinn can do everything and plays all over the field. He is now the third Panthers rookie to have 100-plus tackles, joining Luke Kuechly (164) and Jon Beason (140). He has a sack, two fumble return touchdowns and has been dynamic all over the field. Trading up for him in the second round has more than paid off.
Seventh-overall pick Brown has had a solid rookie year and has been a strong presence on the defensive line even without veteran Kawann Short, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, and with backup Zach Kerr missing time while on the COVID-19 list. Against the Packers, Brown had his best game yet with his first two career sacks, two tackles for loss and three tackles. He ended up playing 92% of the defensive snaps, a career-high.
“I just said, ‘Hey you know what, we’re in a dogfight. We’re down 21-3. Who cares if we’re tired in the fourth quarter. Let’s go fight to stay in this game,’ ” Rhule said of Brown’s playing time. “That was a game for a lot of guys, a lot of our players, I think a lot of players as miserable as it is to lose, a lot of guys grew up. I think Derrick took some real steps, to go out there and take the jacket off, go get on the field and go play.”
How do the Panthers continue to build around those key players this offseason? A sideline-to-sideline middle linebacker would help. Assistance at defensive tackle is needed to assist Brown and make him less likely to be double-teamed. Second-round pick Yetur Gross-Matos has missed time, but when on the field, he has showed potential opposite Burns and played a season-high 84% of snaps against the Packers.
The secondary should be addressed, especially with Douglas becoming a free agent after a mixed year this offseason and Donte Jackson having one year left on his contract. Rhule did make a point of saying that Jackson had “the best football game” he has seen him play. Troy Pride has played well at times but hasn’t proved he deserves to be the long-term starter just yet.
In losses, it can be difficult sometimes to point to what there is to be excited about for the long-term. But the second-half performance the Panthers put together on defense was a reminder of what they have and what this defense can become.
“As disappointed as we are when we lose, there are a lot of positives,” Rhule said. “Those players have to continue to grow, continue to play better. Was happy to see them make some plays.”
Injury updates: Pride left the game vs. the Packers early with a hip injury. Rhule considers him “doubtful” for next Sunday’s game against Washington. Douglas and Jackson would be expected to start.
Burns is dealing with an MCL injury and is questionable for next week. Rookie defensive tackle Bravvion Roy injured his knee during the game but was able to return. All three got MRIs Sunday.
Rhule did not have an update on running back Christian McCaffrey, who has missed the last two games with a quad injury, when speaking with local media Sunday.
