Panthers hit another low, losing a ‘home’ game in a sea of red. Was it Rhule’s last?
Carolina Panther fans voted with their wallets again on Sunday, and the results weren’t pretty for the home team.
So many Panther fans sold their tickets that much of the usually blue stadium turned into a sea of scarlet red, as San Francisco supporters eagerly bought up many of the best seats and morphed Bank of America Stadium into something that felt a lot closer to California than Charlotte.
Those thousands of San Francisco fans went home happy, as the 49ers blistered Carolina, 37-15, sending the Panthers (1-4) reeling to their 11th loss in 12 games dating back to last season.
In a larger sense, this game felt like something important — like one that could be the last game of the Matt Rhule era.
The lack of fans, the lack of offense, the lack of wins, the preponderance of homefield boos, the banged-up quarterback — I’ve covered every Panther coaching change that there’s ever been, and they’ve all felt a lot like this shortly before they happen.
Owner David Tepper might fire Rhule on Monday, or he may wait a little longer than that and let Rhule coach in Los Angeles next Sunday against the Rams. Or I may be totally wrong, and Tepper will let Rhule coach the entire 2022 season and then decides his fate. But Rhule’s dismissal, to me, now feels like a “when” and not an “if.”
Rhule said after the game he had no comment as to whether Tepper had offered him any recent assurances about his job security, saying he only wanted to talk about the 49ers contest that had just ended.
Said Rhule: “I hope you guys can understand, I’m here to talk about the game. ... I have nothing to say about that now. ... I don’t want to make this about me.”
Tepper did say in April that Rhule had his “full support,” but has been silent about the issue since.
Now 11-27 in two-plus years as Carolina’s head coach since being hired away from Baylor, Rhule has been on tenuous footing for a while. He has never solved the quarterback problem he inherited when he took the job in January 2020. And that was apparent again Sunday, as Carolina quarterback Baker Mayfield broke open a close game in exactly the wrong way late in the second quarter.
With Carolina playing respectable defense and special teams and down only 10-3 late in the second quarter, Mayfield badly overshot wide-open running back Christian McCaffrey on a pass. It was intercepted by cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who grew up in Greensboro and looked like he was on his way back there in a hurry as he sped 41 yards with a pick-6.
Until then, Mayfield hadn’t really made a terrible play, and he didn’t really make another after that. But that one was a doozy.
“A gut punch,” Rhule called it later.
It’s also not good news that Mayfield was in a walking boot to protect his left ankle after the game and was limping around in obvious pain.
San Francisco’s defense is so good (No. 1 in the NFL), and the Panthers offense is so bad (No. 32), that a 17-3 San Francisco lead felt insurmountable after Mayfield’s pick-6. And indeed it was.
It actually felt like there were fewer boos and catcalls during this game than there was the week before in Carolina’s home loss to Arizona, and I attribute that partly to the fact that there were fewer Panther fans to unload those boos.
I heard a number of anecdotes Sunday from and about diehard Panther fans who chose to stay home or do something else on a gorgeous October afternoon, selling their tickets or just eating them rather than sitting there absorbing another loss.
It really did feel like a San Francisco home game many times. On a key third down for the Panthers offense early in the game, the cry “Dee-fense! Dee-fense!” was audible, being shouted by the 49er supporters.
Carolina never led, but once again the defense played well enough to keep the Panthers in the game for most of the first half. Even missing three of its top four tacklers due to injury — starting safeties Jeremy Chinn and Xavier Woods and linebacker Frankie Luvu — the defense caused a first-half turnover and held San Francisco to one TD. Yetur Gross-Matos blocked a San Francisco field goal, too, and also recovered a fumble by San Francisco tight end George Kittle.
“I believe it had a chance to be closer than it was,” Rhule said. “We’re better than we’ve shown. ... But you are what your record says you are, and we’re 1-4.”
As usual, the Panther defense started wearing down late, allowing San Francisco too many second-half points. Carolina got one TD on a third-quarter, 19-yard run by McCaffrey on a nifty fourth-down play, but otherwise stalled out and had to kick field goals. Mayfield was replaced in the final three minutes by backup quarterback PJ Walker, who led Carolina downfield on its final drive (for no points).
Rhule said after the game he wasn’t going to comment immediately as to who would start at quarterback next week until he watched the film. It’s also true that Mayfield sustained a left ankle injury in the second quarter (he thought someone “landed” on the ankle) but continued to play with it and then was in a walking boot, walking very gingerly, after the game.
“I’ve got a walking boot on, my leg’s not cut off,” Mayfield said. “I’ll be all right.” But he admitted to being in pain.
It’s very conceivable that Walker, who is 2-0 as a Panther starter in spot duty, ends up with a battlefield promotion and starts against the Rams.
Carolina dropped to 1-27 under Rhule when the opponent scores 17 or more points. And during the time that Tepper has owned the team, which he bought in 2018, the Panthers are now 23-46.
McCaffrey said after the game that he had “full confidence” in Rhule and the current coaching staff, and that players win and lose games more than coaches do.
“I’m p----- that we can’t get it done for him and for the rest of our staff,” McCaffrey said of Rhule. “We need to play better as players.”
Of Rhule, McCaffrey said: “He’s somebody who’s always had my back.”
The running back also praised Mayfield for his grittiness.
“Props to Baker, jacking his ankle up and playing the whole entire second half,” McCaffrey said. “Can’t say he’s not tough, that’s for sure.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 7:12 PM.
