Panthers coach Matt Rhule owns loss to Giants. Key takeaways from the Carolina defeat
The Panthers keep talking about what they are going to be.
“We’re close. I believe that with all my heart,” coach Matt Rhule said Carolina lost 19-16 on Sunday to the New York Giants. “I think we’re so close for coming down the stretch, but we haven’t found a way to get it done. And that’s that’s my job to help us get over that, that last hump. It’s the hardest part and we haven’t done it yet. Didn’t do it today.”
Fans want to have high hopes for Carolina. But after an 0-2 start — during which too many losing habits festered such as slow starts, fumbles, dropped interceptions and blown protections — the Panthers are at a critical “we-gonna-see” juncture.
Entering Week 3, not even out of September yet, the Panthers are already in a must-win situation next week. Being one game under .500 feels, reads and is a lot different than starting 0-3. Beating the Saints next week would make Carolina undefeated in the NFC South.
The season is far from over, but a lot is on the line next Sunday. Such are the consequences for dropping consecutive one-score games to quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Daniel Jones.
And unlike last week, Carolina’s most recent loss feels more randomly regressive than inspiring.
Just when it seemed like the Panthers run defense was doomed, the team responded by holding Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley to 88 total yards on 24 touches. Overall the defense played well, but not perfect. New York converted five-of-11 second-half third downs. The Giants ended the game by converting a third-and-medium via a Jones scramble.
Despite running back Christian McCaffrey eclipsing 100 yards for the first time since 2019, the offense did not pull its weight. Carolina went 2-of-12 on third down, scored one touchdown and looked unimaginative. Every McCaffrey yard came the hard way, including a game-long 49-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.
Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and quarterback Baker Mayfield have not unlocked the best of McCaffrey yet. Take this Los Angeles Rams touchdown for example.
In a 31-27 win against Atlanta, the Rams placed running back Darrell Henderson and receiver Cooper Kupp in a split-back formation (Henderson to the quarterback’s left, Kupp to QB Matthew Stafford’s right) and deployed Kupp on a simple swing route.
The Rams tight end ran an occupying snag route from a reduced “nub” alignment to the boundary side. By “unintentionally” walling off a Falcons defender, Kupp scored with ease.
Putting Kupp in the backfield forced Falcons linebacker Mykal Walker to chase Kupp because of the team’s man coverage rules.
The Panthers featured McCaffrey and Moore in the backfield together once on Sunday. The poorly blocked jet-sweep pass gained negative-two yards.
Carolina won’t replicate the Rams’ offense this year but there was creative play design all over the league on Sunday, except from either team at MetLife Stadium.
Here are two other takeaways from the Panthers’ ninth-consecutive loss.
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Too many blown assignments
After former Panthers kicker Graham Gano hit a 56-yard, go-ahead field goal for the Giants with under four minutes to play, the Panthers had a chance to take the lead but punted after Baker Mayfield was sacked near midfield with 2:08 to play.
Rookie tackle Ikem Ekwonu was beat inside by a blitzing Julian Love, who rolled down from the free safety position to overload the Panthers’ offensive line.
“That (last sack) is on me,” Ekwonu said after the game. “We saw that throughout the week in preparation and I just did not adjust to my man. I had a read. Once I saw my defensive end drop back (into coverage) my job is to go back inside and I just got beat.”
It took just 11 seconds for Carolina to turn the ball over. Running back Chuba Hubbard fumbled the game’s opening kickoff and New York recovered. Four plays later, Gano made his first of four field goals.
New York scored six points off turnovers. That’s way too many for a Panthers team averaging 20 points per game.
Where are the wins?
Every NFL season is a new and separate experience. But when a team goes a calendar year without a victory, previous trauma begins bubbling into the present.
Here is an alarming stat via @1PantherPlace on Twitter: The Panthers are 3-14 over their past 17 games. The three wins came at Houston, at Atlanta and at Arizona, in a game Kyler Murray missed because of COVID-19.
The team needs a win, but the upcoming slate of quarterbacks are proven winners, unlike Brissett or Jones. Jameis Winson once led the league in passing yards. He’s dealing with a broken back and threw three interceptions in Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay.
Murray and the Cardinals erased a 20-point first-half deficit to beat Las Vegas in overtime. Murray made several video game-esque plays that no defense can prepare for.
Jimmy Garappolo is back at quarterback for San Francisco. Trey Lance broke his ankle and needs season-ending surgery, the team announced. That is bad news for Lance and for Carolina.
Following the Panthers’ three-game home stand against the Saints, Cardinals and 49ers, the team travels west for a matchup with the Super Bowl champion Rams. By Week 7, Tom Brady comes to Bank of America Stadium, perhaps for the last time.
Things can turn around for Carolina. Winning two straight home games would change everything.
But to reach .500, (or even get in the win column) the offense must become more daring and the team more assignment sound.
Generating a turnover would help, too. Carolina hasn’t taken the ball away once in its last six games.
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 10:03 AM.
