Five things we learned from the Carolina Panthers’ 21-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles
The Panthers are 3-2 after their troubling 21-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
This was a game they should have won handily. They led 15-6 at halftime, but they allowed Philadelphia to hang around and didn’t take advantage of the Eagles’ miscues.
The Panthers face the Vikings next Sunday. But first they need to get a few things fixed.
Here are five things we learned the Panthers’ loss:
1. Sam Darnold still prone to making mistakes
Darnold had his worst performance as a Panther on Sunday.
He was under duress again against the Eagles, which led to a lot of his off-target throws. Three passes were intercepted. There were also times when Darnold could have hit his receivers and just overthrew or underthrew them.
The Panthers had third-and-10 from the 50-yard line with 13:05 left in the second quarter, when Darnold overthrew rookie wide receiver Terrace Marshall, who was wide open on a deep out route.
Marshall was past the first-down marker and likely would have gained more yards had Darnold hit him. It was an easy throw to make that, even without pressure, Darnold just missed.
In the fourth quarter, with 4:04 left, the Panthers had third-and-3 from their own 46. Darnold tried to hit Robby Anderson on a short out route, but threw it slightly off target. The pass fell incomplete.
“That was a bad ball,” coach Matt Rhule said when asked about the throw. “I think Robby came up. We have to throw and catch. We had a bunch of plays today where we had a chance.“
Darnold said he’s pressing too much, but couldn’t pinpoint why. He said he needed to be better, and he’s right. He does.
2. The Panthers’ offensive line is a mess right now
The Panthers’ offensive line allowed eight quarterback hits against the Eagles, including three sacks. It was their second terrible performance in as many games. Against the Cowboys last week, the Panthers allowed 11 quarterback hits. So that is 19 times Darnold has been hit in the past two weeks.
That’s not all that has gone wrong. The line was responsible for five penalties for 40 yards.
There were two false-start penalties on tackle Taylor Moton, and holding calls on guard John Miller, tackle Brady Christensen and center Matt Paradis.
Moton allowed two quarterback pressures, Miller allowed seven and two sacks, Christensen allowed six pressures, Paradis allowed three and guard Dennis Daley allowed three pressures and one sacks, according to PFF stats.
The Panthers were down two starting offensive linemen Sunday. Left tackle Cam Eriving missed Sunday with a neck injury. And offensive guard Pat Elflein is on the IR with a groin injury.
Finding an offensive lineman elsewhere to help has been difficult for the Panthers front office. Teams are holding onto their offensive linemen.
But the Panthers need to find another answer.
“We just have to do our job better,” said Moton, who started at left tackle for the first time this season. “Personally, I got to look myself in the mirror and see what I can do to make sure that I’m better for him, wherever I may play in the future.”
3. Things should get easier when Christian McCaffrey is back
There’s no doubt that the Panthers are missing McCaffrey, who missed his second consecutive game with a hamstring injury.
Chuba Hubbard was a bright spot Sunday. He had 101 yards rushing on 24 carries. And the Panthers probably should have ran it more, because the Eagles had the 31st-ranked rushing defense in the league heading into the game.
But Hubbard is not much of a threat in the passing game. He had five catches for 33 yards, but also had an easy drop, which you wouldn’t normally see from McCaffrey.
“I thought Chuba (Hubbard) stepped up today,” Darnold said. “I thought Chuba was a bright spot today, in what he did, and Royce (Freeman). We have guys who can fill his spot, but obviously you guys know that Christian is a great player.”
McCaffrey is Darnold’s safety blanket.
Darnold often talked about holding the ball on too long. Having another receiving threat out there will help with a struggling offensive line.
McCaffrey was a game-time decision Sunday after practicing all week. He’ll likely return against the Vikings — a game the Panthers must win.
4. Robby Anderson’s frustrations are boiling over
The Panthers paid big money this offseason to wide receiver Robby Anderson with a two-year $29.5 million extension. But so far, that investment has yet to pay off.
Anderson has 12 catches through five games this season, tied for fourth on the roster. And this is one year after posting a career-high 95 catches for 1,096 yards. He had only two catches for 30 yards and was targeted seven times Sunday.
The connection between Darnold and Anderson hasn’t been there. Darnold has missed him on a few deep shots, and Anderson hasn’t been open on others.
On Sunday, it looked like Darnold was trying to force it to him.
Anderson was visibly frustrated at least twice Sunday — once when Darnold didn’t see him get open on a corner route in the fourth quarter.
Fox television cameras caught him yelling at someone on the sideline after Darnold’s third interception. Anderson was running a comeback route, and Eagles cornerback Steven Nelson jumped in front of it for the pick.
“I think the play previously before that they went to the same guy [Robby Anderson],” Nelson said. “That guy has been lining up in that same formation all day. I just kind of read the play before it even happened and made the play.”
It’s unclear who Anderson’s anger was directed toward.
“I’m going to keep that between Robby and everyone that was involved,” Darnold said when asked about it.
5. The Panthers defense did what it could
The Panthers defense was good. It forced two turnovers — both by cornerback Donte Jackson, who had an interception and a forced fumble.
In the first half, the Eagles were stymied.
When Darnold threw his first interception in the first quarter deep in Carolina territory, the Panthers’ defense held the Eagles to only three points.
It didn’t allow any points after Darnold’s second interception either.
The blocked punt in the fourth quarter was too much to overcome. It gave the Eagles starting field position at the Carolina 27-yard line.
The Panthers needed a stop.
But by that time, the Panthers’ defense had been on the field for too much time in the second half. The players looked gassed on that final defensive drive, which ended in a Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown.
The Panthers did what it could, holding the Eagles to under 200 yards passing and under 100 yards rushing. The offense just put them in too many bad spots.
This story was originally published October 11, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
