Panthers’ Week 12 grades: How Sam Darnold performed in his debut vs. Broncos
Leading the Denver Broncos by two touchdowns at the start of the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup at Bank of America Stadium, Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks was looking for a big play to put the visiting team away.
Quarterback Sam Darnold — making his 2022 regular-season debut — and wideout DJ Moore were happy to oblige.
Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo dialed up a play to get Moore down the field in a hurry. Facing Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, Moore created separation as Darnold heaved the ball roughly 50 yards down the sideline. Darnold’s pass hit Moore in stride as he picked up 52 yards on the play and set the Panthers up in the red zone.
Three plays later, kicker Eddy Piñeiro nailed a 26-yard field goal to put the Panthers up 20-3 after the first drive of the fourth quarter.
Immediately after that play, the Panthers’ special teams unit came up with a turnover on the follow-up kickoff play. The turnover set up the Panthers’ offense in the red zone again, and the team took advantage with another chip shot from Piñeiro. Those back-to-back scoring drives helped the Panthers (4-8) pull off a 23-10 win.
The victory was Wilks’ third consecutive win at home. In just three tries, Wilks did what his predecessor, Matt Rhule, could never do: win three home games in a season.
Here’s how we graded out the Panthers for the Week 12 win against the Broncos:
Passing offense
B. Making his first start of the season, Darnold was able to connect with wideouts and tight ends with consistency throughout the first quarter, setting the tone for the matchup.
Darnold connected on 5 of 8 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown during the first three drives of the game. Moore, who had been mitigated in recent weeks, caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown during that span. Darnold, who is known to overthink in the pocket, made smart decisions early on and was able to spread the ball around to multiple targets, including his tight ends, who aren’t regular playmakers in the offense.
While Darnold served as a handoff machine on the Panthers’ second scoring drive of the first half, he was still able to connect with wideout Laviska Shenault Jr. on a well-placed swing pass for a 5-yard gain.
Darnold completed 7 of 13 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. He led two first-half scoring drives and had a 95.0 passer rating.
As the Panthers continued to pull away from the Broncos in the second half, Darnold became mostly a game manager. Darnold made the occasional downfield heave — including an impressive 52-yard connection with Moore down the sideline in the fourth quarter — but was mostly used to supplement the running game, which was on fire down the stretch.
Darnold completed 57.9% of his passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. He led five total scoring drives and had an overall passer rating of 103.8 in his debut.
Darnold looked about as smooth as a Panthers quarterback had looked all season. While that’s a pretty low bar, the former first-round pick easily outplayed Baker Mayfield’s previous work. He also looked more complete as a passer than PJ Walker in his five-game stretch at quarterback.
During the win against the Broncos, Darnold’s top target was Moore, who caught 4 of 6 targets for 104 yards and a touchdown. The score was Moore’s first touchdown catch since Week 8.
Darnold was also able to avoid being sacked on Sunday. The Panthers’ offensive line put forth another impressive blocking performance at home.
Rushing offense
A. Last week, running back D’Onta Foreman said he played horribly against the Baltimore Ravens. After producing just 24 rushing yards in Baltimore, Foreman picked up 31 rushing yards in just the first quarter against the Broncos. Foreman was able to get his wheels churning with Darnold managing the passing game with effectiveness.
However, following a 18-yard run in the second quarter, Foreman was sidelined with a leg injury. Foreman was taken to the medical tent, while Chuba Hubbard replaced him and found success of his own on the ground. While filling in for Foreman, Hubbard picked up 28 yards on six carries during a field-goal scoring drive.
A holding penalty on left guard Brady Christensen wiped out another 18-yard run by Foreman. However, penalty aside, the Panthers’ offensive line routinely did a nice job of opening up holes for the backs on Sunday. Wilks called out the offensive line, among other positions, this week, and the group seemingly rebounded after a rough outing against the Ravens.
The Panthers finished with 93 rushing yards on 20 carries in the first half. Foreman picked up 56 rushing yards on nine carries, as he averaged 6.2 yards per run. He looked like his typical bulldozer self, as he ran over and around defenders.
In the third quarter, Darnold got in on the run fun. The quarterback kept the ball on a run-pass-option and got stripped of the ball. However, Darnold made a heads-up play by diving to recover the ball and rolling into the end zone. The play counted as a 2-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery and put the Panthers up by two touchdowns.
Foreman finished the game with 24 carries for 113 yards. Hubbard paced the running offense with 17 carries for 65 yards. Both players did a nice job of taking advantage of holes opened up by the offensive line. Swing tackle Cam Erving was routinely used as an extra blocker, while rookie guard Cade Mays occasionally moonlighted as a fullback in critical short-yardage situations.
In total, the Panthers gained 185 yards and a touchdown on 46 carries.
Passing defense
A-. Broncos starting quarterback Russell Wilson continued to his downward trajectory in Carolina. Through the Broncos’ first four drives, Wilson completed 4 of 5 passes, but those connections only went for 10 net yards. The Panthers did a nice job of forcing pressure off the edge, as defensive end Brian Burns picked up an early sack off the pressure from Yetur Gross-Matos on the the other side of the line. Fellow defensive end Marquis Haynes made an important pass breakup on third down with Wilson’s heels on the goal line.
In the second quarter, Burns — again — came up big with a well-timed sack. Burns was able to score a strip-sack on Wilson, which led to a fumble recovery by the Panthers, wiping out a red-zone trip for Denver. The sack was Burns’ 10th on the season — a new career-high mark — and gave the Carolina offense another possession before halftime. It also likely took points off the board for the Broncos.
Wilson had the occasional highlight in the second half, including an impressive 22-yard strike to wideout Courtland Sutton in the second quarter. But the Panthers clamped down on the passing game for the most part, and that 22-yard connection was Wilson’s longest of the game. Wilson had just 72 passing yards on 12 completions entering the final drive of the third quarter.
Haynes and safety Xavier Woods both made impressive pass breakups in the third quarter, and linebacker Shaq Thompson scored a quarterback hit on a quick drive for Denver.
The Panthers’ defense finished the game with 3 sacks, 10 QB hits, 4 pass breakups and a turnover. Wilson completed 54.3% of his passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. He had a passer rating of 73.7.
Rushing defense
C. Broncos running back Latavius Murray picked up a 52-yard gain on the ground in the second quarter. Prior to that play, the Panthers had done a relatively good job keeping the Broncos’ running game in check. Still, through the first two quarters, the Broncos gained 93 yards on 12 touches. Denver came into the game with one of the worst rushing attacks in the league.
With the Panthers up by two touchdowns for most of the second half, the Broncos were forced to get away from the run, even with the area of attack working well. The Panthers were essentially able to mitigate the run by taking a lead and playing well against the pass. That’s the type of complementary football that Wilks has been seeking since he took over for Matt Rhule in Week 6.
Murray finished with 13 carries for 92 yards. The Broncos produced 121 total yards on 19 carries.
Special teams
B. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor dialed up some trickery in the first quarter.
On fourth-and-1 from the Carolina 40-yard line, the Panthers lined up to punt, but long snapper J.J. Jansen snapped the ball to safety Sean Chandler, who picked up two yards on the carry. The play kept the drive alive and led to the Panthers’ first points of the game.
However, just a few minutes later, running back Raheem Blackshear muffed a punt return and the Broncos were able to recover, taking away the Panthers’ moment. The Broncos were able to start the drive over at the Carolina 27-yard line, which led to Denver’s first points of the game.
Piñeiro made all three of his field-goal attempts and both of his extra-point attempts. Punter Johnny Hekker averaged 51 yards per punt and had four attempts downed within the opponent’s 20-yard line.
The special teams unit also forced a fumble and recovered the ball on a kick return by wide receiver Jalen Virgil. The turnover led to a fourth-quarter field goal by Piñeiro.
The Broncos were able to recover an onside kick late in the fourth quarter, which was essentially a turnover in favor of Denver.
This story was originally published November 27, 2022 at 4:25 PM.
