How the Panthers’ surging defense is preparing for an unknown Steelers quarterback
Against the Seahawks, the Panthers’ defense suppressed quarterback Geno Smith’s league-leading completion percentage 14 points under its average.
Two weeks before frustrating Smith in Seattle and holding the Seahawks to a season-low 26 rushing yards, the Panthers’ defense limited former league MVP Lamar Jackson to one touchdown in a 13-3 road loss.
During the past four weeks, the Panthers’ defense is suffocating opposing offenses. Since Week 10, Carolina’s defense is allowing 15.5 points per game. The 49ers’ top-ranked defense allows 15.1 points per game. Carolina smothered the Seahawks’ high-powered offense by pressuring the quarterback and complementing the rush with sticky man coverage on the outside.
Expect that game plan to continue as Carolina prepares for a talented but underperforming Pittsburgh offense that has not named a starting quarterback yet for Sunday. Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett is in the concussion protocol while backups Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph are splitting first-team practice reps.
“Rudolph as well as Trubisky are both more than capable of going out and executing and running this offense. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching against these guys on several occasions,” Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks said. “They try to establish the run game up front and move the pocket a little bit to be able to take the shots down the field.”
Wilks last coached against Rudolph in 2019 when serving as defensive coordinator of the Browns. Cleveland beat Pittsburgh 21-7 and Rudolph threw four interceptions.
The Panthers are coming off a two-interception game against Seattle. Cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and C.J. Henderson each forced Smith into his first multi-turnover game of the season. The Panthers’ secondary could face more playmaking opportunities on Sunday. Trubisky threw three interceptions last week after coming in for the injured Pickett.
Two of those interceptions came in the red zone. It took Trubisky just five attempts to throw his first interception. Six passes later he threw his second, and his third pick came five throws after that. Trubisky is aggressive (he had long completions of 37 and 42 yards on Sunday) but reckless compared to Pickett. Pickett’s streak of not throwing an interception is at 129 pass attempts.
The Panthers are not preparing for any specific quarterback. Instead, defensive coordinator Al Holcomb has Carolina’s defense focused on Pittsburgh’s entire offense, especially running back Najee Harris, tight end Pat Freiermuth and receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.
“They have (several) mobile quarterbacks. Guys that understand the offense and can throw the football,” Holcomb said. “When you go back and you look at the body of work throughout the season, you’re seeing the same concepts when Mitch was in the game earlier on in the season to what you see last week. So not not many differences. It’s their offense that we’re facing.”
Panthers defenders are focused on stopping the Steelers’ run game. Pittsburgh ranks 13th in rushing attempts per game (26.5) but offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s rushing commitment hasn’t paid off. According to Football Outsiders, Pittsburgh’s rush offense ranks 16th in DVOA, which measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent. This would be serviceable if the Steelers’ play-action passing attack was effective. But Pittsburgh has the 20th-ranked passing offense in DVOA ratings.
The Steelers’ scheme is not maximizing its talent but the Panthers’ defense is aware Harris, Freiermuth, Johnson and Pickens are budding stars.
“They run the ball well,” Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn said. “They got a really good running back and their perimeter game. They run the ball outside. And they got two really good receivers. ... The tight end, he works hard. He’s fast. He gets over. And then guys have a hard time tackling him.”
Freiermuth, who has missed multiple practices this week with a foot injury, is second on the team in receptions behind Johnson. Carolina will need adequate play from Chinn against Freiermuth and Horn on either Johnson or Pickens.
Last week against Pro Bowler D.K Metcalf, Horn allowed just three catches for 49 yards. Holcomb said Horn had a locked-in week of practice in preparation for Metcalf. The team expects Horn’s momentum to continue against another pair of Pro-Bowler caliber receivers.
“He accepted the challenge early in the week. He really went into great detail in terms of his film study and some of the tendencies that we saw in terms of his route running tree, his body language, his demeanor, some of those things,” Holcomb said. “I think that gave a little bit of a tip. And then he had really good vision, good technique and made some excellent breaks on the ball.”
While Freiermuth patrols the middle of the field and Pickens stretches it, Johnson will likely be a check-down outlet for whichever Steelers quarterback. Johnson is top five in the league in targets but has the lowest depth of target. He has not scored a touchdown this season.
Carolina (5-8) is favored for the first time under Wilks. The interim coach is adamant the Panthers will “protect the Bank” on Sunday against Pittsburgh, regardless of who quarterbacks the Steelers.
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
