Grading Panthers’ loss to Steelers: Foreman, defense fail to show up in home defeat
Riding high on the first two-game winning streak of the season, Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks told his players to protect their home field against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He urged the fan base to do the same throughout the week.
Unfortunately for Wilks, on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium — with “Terrible Towels” waving in the wind — neither side held up their end of the bargain in a 24-16 home loss
The Panthers, who had been so proficient on defense over the past four weeks, crumbled against the Steelers’ rushing attack, led by running back Najee Harris. The Steelers milked the clock on the ground and supplemented that success with fill-in starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the passing game.
On offense, the once-dominant Carolina running game — led by running back D’Onta Foreman — failed to pick up any momentum, as the Steelers crowded the box and never let up. While quarterback Sam Darnold protected the ball well and made the occasional highlight throw in the passing game, the Panthers’ identity wouldn’t let them abandon the run, and Carolina inevitably paid the price.
The Panthers clinched their fifth consecutive losing season with the first home loss of Wilks’ interim tenure. At 5-9, the Panthers aren’t completely out of the NFC South race, but this setback could serve as a nail in the coffin to the momentum built up over the past month.
Here is how we graded the Panthers in their loss to the Steelers:
Rushing Offense
F. If an F- was a thing, it’d probably be the grade here.
The Panthers’ running game got off to a brutal start against the Steelers, who did an impressive job of loading the line effectively.
During the first half, Foreman was stonewalled, running six times for just 3 yards. Backup Chuba Hubbard didn’t fare much better, picking up 8 yards on 3 carries. With an additional run by Darnold for 3 yards, the Panthers finished the first half with 14 rushing yards on 10 carries.
The Panthers entered the fourth quarter averaging 1.7 yards per carry.
Despite getting deep into the red zone, the Panthers’ running game couldn’t be depended on in the fourth quarter, as Foreman was brought down at the 2-yard line on a carry and fumbled the ball. Luckily for the Panthers, they were able to recover, but the play essentially blew up the momentum of the drive. The Panthers were forced to settle for a field goal.
Foreman finished with 10 carries for 9 yards. The entire offense picked up 21 rushing yards on 16 attempts.
Passing Offense
C. The Steelers came into the game knowing that they had to stop the run against the Panthers’ offense. After completing that task on the first drive of the game, the Panthers opened up the passing game during an impressive second series. Darnold completed a trio of sharp third-down throws, including a 40-yard bomb to wideout Terrace Marshall Jr., which set the Panthers up on the Steelers’ 7-yard line.
Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo did a nice job of finding cracks in the Steelers’ coverage early on, and Darnold took advantage. Darnold finished off the drive with an off-schedule throw — on the run — to wideout D.J. Moore for a touchdown. Moore made a phenomenal grab as he was falling out of bounds, assisted by the accuracy of Darnold’s bullet pass.
The Panthers’ momentum in the passing game was clipped after the touchdown drive. A second consecutive stalled drive was capped when Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt easily got past right tackle Taylor Moton for a sack on Darnold.
The Panthers finally let out another burst of offensive energy late in the third quarter. However, it was short-lived.
After connecting with Hubbard for a 45-yard gain, Darnold was sacked on consecutive plays to push the Panthers out of field-goal range. Steelers pass rusher Alex Highsmith — a Charlotte 49ers alum — beat left tackle Ikem Ekwonu for a sack on Darnold for an 8-yard loss. Immediately after that takedown, Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward beat Moton for a sack and a 10-yard loss.
Down 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Panthers were, again, forced to throw, and Darnold delivered with a pair of tosses to Moore and Shi Smith for a total of 37 yards. The Panthers then tested the matchup of Marshall against Cameron Sutton, and the defensive back was called for a 27-yard pass interference penalty, which put Carolina on the doorstep of the end zone.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the lack of trust in the passing game from the coaching staff mitigated the unit’s effectiveness. The Panthers’ identity is rooted in a ground-and-pound attack, but Darnold was actually making some plays as a passer.
Darnold completed 14 of 23 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked four times and had a passer rating of 108.1. Moore caught five of six targets for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Rushing Defense
D-. The Panthers’ run defense was bullied early on by the Steelers’ offensive line and running back Harris.
On the opening drive of the game for the Pittsburgh offense, the Steelers ran eight times for 41 yards and a touchdown on a 12-play, 67-yard drive. The Panthers routinely struggled to set the edge, as Harris consistently picked up chunks of yards to the outside. Harris had two runs of over 10 yards, as he had plenty of room before contact on both plays.
With Trubisky completing his first six passes of the game, the running game got some space to work with on the second drive of the game. Pittsburgh capped its second scoring drive with a rushing touchdown by running back Jaylen Warren. Through two drives, the Steelers had 74 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
The Steelers continued to pound the line of scrimmage in the third quarter. The Panthers were unable to stop the Steelers from moving the chains, and a 22-yard run by wideout Steven Sims put Pittsburgh firmly in Carolina territory. Later in the drive, the Steelers rode Harris on back-to-back runs for 10 yards to get the ball to the 1-yard line. Trubisky scored on a QB sneak two plays later.
The touchdown-scoring drive was a 21-play, 91-yard drive that took 11:43 off the clock. The Steelers ran the ball 14 times on the drive for 52 yards.
The Steelers finished with 157 total rushing yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries. This was the run defense’s worst showing since the Cincinnati blowout in Week 9.
Passing Defense
D+. Starting cornerback C.J. Henderson (ankle) was forced from the game in the first quarter. His replacement, Keith Taylor Jr., gave up a 38-yard completion from Trubisky to wideout George Pickens in the second quarter. That big play set up the Steelers for their second consecutive red-zone trip to start the game.
With Henderson sidelined, Trubisky continually went after Taylor throughout the game.
The UNC alum connected with wideout Diontae Johnson for a pair of tosses that led to first downs against Taylor, who appeared to be overmatched by the Steelers’ starting receivers. The Trubisky-Johnson duo then connected for another impressive completion, as the receiver beat safety Jeremy Chinn in coverage, broke three tackles and then picked up a leaping first down. Luckily for the Panthers, the Steelers were pushed back 15 yards due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Johnson, who immediately celebrated after the conversion.
Trubisky completed 15 of his first 18 passes for 151 yards and a 101.6 passer rating.
The Panthers’ defense made an impressive three-and-out stop on the unit’s first drive of the fourth quarter. Linebacker Frankie Luvu and defensive end Brian Burns met at Trubisky for a third-down sack that lost the Steelers 10 yards and forced a punt.
Taylor continued to get worked in coverage by Johnson during the final Steelers drive in the fourth quarter. He gave up a huge 19-yard completion on third-and-15 to keep the drive from being a three-and-out. A couple of plays later, Taylor gave up another reception for a first down to Johnson.
Trubisky completed 17 of 22 passes for 179 yards and a passer rating of 100.4. He was sacked once.
The Panthers failed to produce a turnover in the passing game.
Special Teams
A. Punter Johnny Hekker continued his campaign for a fifth Pro Bowl appearance against the Steelers. On the final special teams play of the first half, Hekker booted an attempt from the Carolina 23-yard line to the Pittsburgh 7-yard line for a 63-yard field flip. Hekker punted four times for 194 total yards and an average of 48.5 yards per punt. The Panthers also nearly recovered an onside kick by Hekker with 18 seconds remaining on the clock.
Kicker Eddy Piñeiro nailed all three of his field-goal attempts — of 29, 32 and 52 yards, respectively — in the fourth quarter. He also made his lone extra-point attempt. Piñeiro has made 14 consecutive field goals, dating back to Week 9.
The coverage units limited Sims, the Steelers’ slippery returner, just 17 yards on a kick return and 5 yards on a punt return.
This story was originally published December 18, 2022 at 4:13 PM.
