Grading the Carolina Panthers in their Week 5 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles
Here’s a first look at how the Panthers (3-2) graded out in their disappointing and uninspired 21-18 loss to the Eagles (2-3) on Sunday afternoon in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Passing offense
For the first time this season, Carolina’s offensive woes were so bad that they hurt every part of the team: They sabotaged a talented defense, foiled a breakout display of special teams and squandered several Eagle gifts — including a bad-snap-turned-safety late in the second half.
And the offense’s biggest weakness, on a day when nothing went right? The passing game.
Quarterback Sam Darnold’s numbers weren’t encouraging: The 24-year-old completed 21 of 37 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. He threw three interceptions — including one on the team’s last consequential drive, with just over two minutes remaining in the game — and wasn’t accurate when he needed to be. With the Panthers up two points, on a third down with four minutes left in the game, Darnold couldn’t connect with Robby Anderson in the flat for a first down.
That completion might’ve sustained a game-sealing drive.
Instead it set up a Panthers punt that was blocked and ultimately led to an Eagles touchdown and an Eagles win.
Brutal.
Was it all Darnold’s fault? It’s never that simple. Darnold was sacked three times. He more often evaded a sack and threw the ball away.
But in a game with so many turnovers, so many gifts, a solid showing from its rookie running back — the Panthers’ passing offense couldn’t avoid making those game-changing mistakes. And it cost Carolina a win it should’ve had.
Grade: F
Rushing offense
Chuba Hubbard was a rare bright spot on the team’s offense. He carried 24 times for 101 yards, which included a 26-yard run. Several times he appeared to be a shoe-string broken tackle away from a big touchdown run.
A day like this from Hubbard probably makes Panthers fans wonder what the game’s result would’ve been if Christian McCaffrey was healthy.
Hubbard love accounted for, the Panthers’ rushing offense was still imperfect: When the Panthers had a late fourth-quarter chance to seal the game on the ground while up two points, like their passing offense counterparts, they couldn’t get it done.
Grade: C+
Red-zone offense
The Panthers had one trip in the red-zone, and it turned into a Darnold touchdown pass to Tommy Tremble for an early 10-3 lead. Of course, part of the job is getting inside the 20-yard line — and Carolina couldn’t do it in the second half.
Grade: D
Passing defense
The Carolina defense — before it was beaten down by Darnold interceptions and discouraged by a blocked punt and paralyzed by just general offensive incompetence — was on its way to having a great day. The only bad possession it gave up was an 80-yard touchdown drive late in the third quarter.
The other Eagle scores?
▪ A 30-yard field goal after a Darnold interception gave the Eagles the ball in their red zone.
▪ A 58-yard field goal.
▪ And then that final touchdown after that aforementioned blocked punt.
Passing, specifically: The Panthers held Jalen Hurts to 22 of 37 for 198 yards and an interception. That’s not a pretty stat line. (The rookie-adjacent quarterback came into Sunday averaging 291.8 passing yards a game.)
The secondary played particularly well: Dontae Jackson forced a fumble and notched an interception. Jeremy Chinn picked up a fumble recovery. Haason Reddick recorded two sacks, looking like his old self (of two games ago).
This doesn’t absolve the defense of its shortcomings Sunday, particularly in the fourth quarter, when a stop or a hold to a Eagles field goal after Darnold’s third interception could’ve given the offense the ball back with a chance to win with a minute left in the game.
But the defense did more than enough to deliver the Panthers a win.
Grade: C
Rushing defense
The Eagles had an unremarkable running game: 91 yards on 22 attempts. Its two rushing touchdowns came on quarterback runs in the red-zone.
But when it mattered most? When the defense could’ve given the offense one more shot at a touchdown and a win? The defense couldn’t make it happen.
Grade: C-
Red-zone defense
The Eagles scored two touchdowns, both of which were from the red-zone. But the Panthers defense also stuffed an early chance for an Eagles score after an aforementioned first-quarter Darnold interception.
Grade: C
Special teams
It was a banner day for Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez, who nailed 3 of 3 kicks (from 43, 48 and 50 yards). But that special teams play would be overshadowed by that aforementioned blocked punt in the fourth quarter. (There, too, were other blunders, like a failed pooch punt by Gonzalez — one meant to deceive the Eagles and pin them deep near their own goal line — that ended up rolling in as a touchback. It never had a chance.)
Grade: B+
Coaching
It’s tough to deduce exactly what went wrong on Sunday. In their postgame pressers, head coach Matt Rhule and other Panther team leaders stuck to their “I need to watch the tape” refrains.
But a loss to a mediocre Eagles team — particularly after an uninspired second half — calls into question whether Rhule and company were out-coached coming out of the break, particularly on offense.
We could debate all day about certain plays and situations. Why didn’t Rhule go for it on 4th and 2 right before the half? Why didn’t you give Gonzalez a chance at that 58-yard field goal, instead of sending a pooch punt into the end zone?
But the more pressing questions for Rhule deal with his stagnant offense — one that with each week looks more and more reliant on its unhealthy star running back McCaffrey; one that looks less and less dynamic with Darnold under center; and one whose bad play is contagious to the rest of a team that’s better than the one that showed up on Sunday.
Grade: D
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 6:05 PM.
.jpeg)