Panthers’ loss to Steelers: Keith Taylor’s ‘worst game’, Steve Wilks’ thoughts on playoffs
Carolina Panthers cornerback Keith Taylor Jr. should probably avoid searching his name on Twitter this week.
Taylor was asked to replace starting cornerback C.J. Henderson (ankle) in the first quarter of Sunday’s 24-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, unfortunately for Taylor, the results weren’t pretty, as Pittsburgh’s fill-in starting quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, repeatedly targeted him for big gains in coverage.
Taylor allowed completions of 38, 19 and 15 yards against the Steelers, as wideouts George Pickens and Diontae Johnson took turns making plays against him throughout the game.
“This is probably the worst game I’ve ever played in my life,” Taylor said. “So, I’ve just got to have short-term memory. That’s what you have to have in this league. Come back next week — come back (Monday) — prepared, wash this game away and get ready for the Lions.”
Following the game, interim head coach Steve Wilks — who lost his first home game since taking over the top job in Week 6 — said Taylor’s backup status shouldn’t have prevented him from making plays.
“Keith’s got to make plays,” Wilks said. “Whoever is in there. TJ Carrie, Keith Taylor, whoever it may be, they’ve got to make plays.”
Trubisky and the Steelers clearly identified Taylor as a weakness of the Panthers’ defense. Initially, Pickens was matched up against Taylor in the second quarter, and the receiver made a pair of big plays for first downs against him. In the second half, Johnson drew Taylor and repeatedly caught passes for third-down conversions.
“I don’t think they were really that much of a hard assignment,” Taylor said. “I would say, I’ve just got to execute better. I practice every day. They practice every day. I just have to execute, just trust my technique instead of pressing all the time.”
After the game, Wilks said he wasn’t sure of Henderson’s status for the Week 16 tilt against the Detroit Lions.
The game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, so Henderson will have a short week to recover from his ankle injury. If Henderson can’t return in time, the Panthers might be stuck with Taylor opposite No. 1 corner Jaycee Horn, again.
The Lions have an explosive passing attack, and Taylor has already shown on tape that he struggles in man coverage. Still, the cornerback hopes to rebound from his dreadful performance against the Steelers if given the chance.
“I’ve just got to execute,” Taylor said. “I know I’m a better player than what I showed y’all (Sunday). I’ve just got to bounce back from this and be better for the team. I take full responsibility and just feel like I’ve got to play better. That’s all it is.”
Wilks doesn’t want to hear about playoffs
The Panthers are 5-9, but they still control their own destiny in the NFC South division race.
During the late afternoon slate of games, the Cincinnati Bengals scored 34 consecutive points to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-23, at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers moved to 6-8 on the season with three games remaining.
The Panthers, who already own a win against the Buccaneers, face Tampa Bay in Week 17 and can make up ground in the race by sweeping the season series on the road.
If the Panthers win their final three games, Carolina will win the division title and end up in the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Still, Wilks doesn’t want to hear anything about the playoffs until the Panthers potentially get there.
“We’ve got to worry about trying to get ourselves right to win a football game,” Wilks said. “I don’t want anybody in this building talking playoffs.”
The Panthers will host the Lions (7-7) on Saturday in their final home game of the season. From there, they’ll finish the campaign with back-to-back road matchups against the Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints (5-9).
The Panthers won home matchups against both of the NFC South teams earlier in the season, giving them the current head-to-head tiebreaker in the standings.
Quick hits
▪ Following the game, Wilks criticized the third-down play on both sides of the ball. The Steelers converted 75% of their third-down plays (12 of 16), while the Panthers converted just 36% (4 of 11). The Steelers controlled the ball for 36:11, while the Panthers had possession for just 23:49.
▪ Wideout D.J. Moore caught his fifth touchdown pass of the season on Sunday against the Steelers. The score set a new single-season high for the receiver. Moore had caught four touchdown passes in each of the past three seasons.
▪ Quarterback Sam Darnold has gone three consecutive games without an interception for the second time in his career. The first time he accomplished that feat was with the New York Jets in 2020. However, this is the first time Darnold has thrown a touchdown pass in three consecutive games without an interception.
▪ Kicker Eddy Piñeiro made all three of his fourth-quarter field-goal attempts on Sunday. He has now made 14 consecutive field goals. His 93.3% field-goal percentage (28 of 30) ranks second in the league — among kickers with 20 attempts or more — behind Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers (96.3%)
▪ Linebacker Frankie Luvu has produced five sacks over the past five games.
▪ Steelers pass rusher Alex Highsmith, a Charlotte 49ers alum and lifelong Panthers fan, had a strong game. He produced four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble against Carolina. As of Sunday afternoon, Highsmith led the league with five forced fumbles on the season. He also has 11 sacks through 14 games.
▪ Fellow Steelers defender and UNC Charlotte alum Larry Ogunjobi also had a strong performance. Ogunjobi had five tackles, including two for loss, and a quarterback hit.
▪ Rookie backup lineman Cade Mays played two snaps at fullback against the Steelers. The Panthers failed to use their “Arby’s” package of eight offensive linemen in the game.
This story was originally published December 19, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
