Five things we learned about the Carolina Panthers in their 18-10 loss to the Saints
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Panthers at Saints
Expanded coverage of Carolina’s Week 17 NFL game.
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The Carolina Panthers lost to the New Orleans Saints, 18-10, on Sunday, their sixth consecutive loss of the season, and seventh in the past eight games.
The only good from Sunday’s result was that the Panthers would pick sixth in the 2022 NFL draft if it were to happen today.
Here are four takeaways from the Panthers’ loss:
1. Panthers continue to struggle with adjustments
For much of this season, the Panthers have been a team that starts strong, has good opening drives and plays well when everything is scripted.
It’s when the Panthers have to adjust that things tend to unravel.
The Panthers had 132 yards and 10 points after their first two drives. Their next five drives netted only two yards.
This has been an issue all season. The Panthers go through long stretches of stagnant play. That was the case in the Panthers’ Week 5 loss to the Eagles; after leading 15-3 late in the second quarter, they lost 21-18.
The Panthers didn’t score a single second-half point against the Saints. After leading 10-3 in the second quarter, they lost 18-10.
A big reason they failed to adjust was their inability to protect quarterback Sam Darnold and run promising plays.
2. Defense played well early but wore down
The Panthers were missing two of their best defensive weapons Sunday in cornerback Stephon Gilmore and edge rusher Haason Reddick. And defensive end Brian Burns and linebacker Shaq Thompson came off the COVID list just Saturday.
Yet, the Panthers’ defense played well for most of the game.
How did they do it? They stopped the run early. The Saints had 73 yards rushing on 28 carries. Running back Alvin Kamara had 32 yards on 13 carries, and almost all of it was gained on one play — a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter.
But the defense wore down as the game went on. The Saints’ only touchdown — a 12-yard pass from quarterback Taysom Hill to Kamara — happened in the fourth quarter after the Panthers had just missed what would have been a go-ahead field goal.
“It’s tough because we keep talking about the same thing, each and every week,” Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson said. “Do your job. It’s OK to have a missed assignment once, but not repeatedly.
“We can’t keep having these mistakes. We’ve gotta grow up and do our jobs.”
3. Defense not creating turnovers
The Panthers have the league’s No. 2 ranked defense in terms of yards allowed per game.
But to go from good to elite, they need to force more turnovers and that didn’t happen against the Saints. In fact, that hasn’t happened enough all year.
The Panthers had an opportunity Sunday.
Hill threw a poor pass right to Panthers defensive back Myles Hartsfield, who bobbled the ball three times before dropping it. Had Hartsfield caught the interception, the Panthers would have had decent field position. Instead, the Saints punt it deep into Carolina territory, leading Carolina to another bad possession.
The Panthers have 16 takeaways on the season, which ranks 28th out of 32 NFL teams.
Turnovers can flip field position. The Panthers’ average starting field position Sunday was at the 19.5-yard line.
“In order to change the game, we need turnovers,” Thompson said.
4. Frankie Luvu stepped up
With Reddick out because of COVID protocols, Luvu started and played an increased number of snaps. Reddick has played at a Pro Bowl level, so those were some big shoes to fill.
Earlier last week, Luvu assured the media he would step up. And he did.
Against the Saints, Luvu was easily the Panthers’ best defensive player. He led the team with nine tackles and three tackles for loss.
Luvu has been a key player for the Panthers this season. He’s been the ultimate utility guy, filling in wherever needed, and becoming a key special teams player. He had a punt block earlier this season which led to a touchdown.
He’ll be a free agent this offseason, and the Panthers will hope to re-sign him.
“We’ve got to move on to the next week,” Luvu said. “It’s been a tough year, but we’re all we need.”
5. 2022 opponents set for Panthers
The Panthers’ latest loss solidified their fourth-place finish in the NFC South, and who they will play next season.
The Panthers will host nine games next season and will have eight road games.
Those home opponents are the Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints, Cardinals, 49ers, Steelers, Browns, Lions and Broncos.
Road opponents are Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints, Rams, Seahawks, Ravens, Bengals and Giants.
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