PJ Walker benched for Baker Mayfield: Panthers make QB switch down big to the Bengals
Down 35-0 to the Cincinnati Bengals to start the third quarter on Sunday at Paycor Stadium, Carolina Panthers head coach Steve Wilks decided to pull the plug on PJ Walker’s heartwarming tale.
Wilks made a change at quarterback, moving Walker to the bench and replacing him with former starter Baker Mayfield, who had held a clipboard for the past two weeks. Mayfield, who hadn’t played since Matt Rhule’s final loss against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5, came into the game to start the second half.
Walker had an embarrassingly poor start against the Bengals, completing just three of 10 passes for nine yards and two interceptions in six series. He led the team to one earned first down before he was put on the bench.
With the Panthers down by five touchdowns, the quarterback swap was essentially superficial, but still necessary. The Panthers’ offense looked inept. Play-calling and execution were both to blame for the horrendous showing.
With Mayfield in the game, the Panthers will look to build some sort of momentum ahead of their Thursday Night Football matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. During the first five games of the season, Mayfield completed 54.9% of his passes for 962 yards, 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
UPDATE (Sunday, 4:44 p.m): Mayfield led the Panthers on three second-half scoring drives in a 42-21 loss to the Bengals. He completed 70% of his passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
This story was originally published November 6, 2022 at 2:54 PM.
