Grading Panthers’ loss to Bucs: TD giveaways, turnovers kill Carolina’s playoff hopes
The Carolina Panthers won’t be going to the postseason in the new year.
The franchise’s fairy tale turnaround under interim head coach Steve Wilks was halted Sunday in a 30-24 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Missing top cornerback Jaycee Horn (wrist), the Panthers’ defense gave up three massive touchdown completions from ageless quarterback Tom Brady to wideout Mike Evans.
Those three big scores — along with three turnovers from quarterback Sam Darnold — made the difference in a nail-in-the-coffin loss for the Panthers (6-10) against the Buccaneers (8-8), who clinched the NFC South division title.
Here’s how The Charlotte Observer graded the 30-24 loss to the Buccaneers:
Rushing Offense
D. With the passing game taking the lead against the Buccaneers, the Panthers’ run game got off to a sleepy start.
During the first half, running backs D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard combined for just 27 rushing yards on nine carries. The entire offense posted just 34 rushing yards in the first half.
Despite owning the lead for the most of the game, the Panthers finished with just 74 rushing yards on 22 carries. Foreman led the way with 35 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Passing Offense
B-. Darnold came out firing from the opening whistle. He looked like the first-round prospect that many raved about in 2018, leading an impressive touchdown drive to begin the game. Darnold completed all four of his passes for 60 yards and a touchdown, including a 17-yard scoring strike to tight end Tommy Tremble.
While the Panthers had been notoriously timid on offense under Wilks entering Week 17, Darnold’s efficiency gave the interim head coach confidence on a fourth-and-3 opportunity in the second quarter. In the shotgun formation, Darnold was allowed to move to his left and hit wideout DJ Moore for a 7-yard gain after an aggressive play call.
The fourth-down play kept the drive alive and allowed Darnold to hit Moore for a 24-yard touchdown strike just three plays later, and extend the lead to 14. Darnold completed 8 of 11 passes for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns to begin the game.
Chaos ensued on the next drive, though, as Darnold mishandled an early shotgun snap from center Bradley Bozeman and the Buccaneers recovered the ball. It was Darnold’s first turnover of the season.
During the first series of the second half, Darnold pushed the Panthers into Buccaneers territory with an impressive throw to fullback Giovanni Ricci for a 32-yard gain. However, on the next play, Darnold heaved the ball downfield to tight end Stephen Sullivan, and he was picked off by cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting. Darnold clearly underthrew the post route to Sullivan, and the interception was his first of the season.
Darnold came back with a vengeance on the next series with a fearless 47-yard heave to Moore. Darnold was facing pressure from defensive tackle Vita Vea and threw down the field as he was hit by the massive lineman. Moore made an excellent effort to come back to the ball against cornerback Jamal Dean in a 50-50 situation.
The explosive play put the Panthers on the cusp of the red zone on a momentum-grabbing sequence by all three phases.
Darnold continued to ride that wave to open the fourth quarter, hitting wideout Shi Smith for a 19-yard touchdown completion, as the Panthers extended their lead to 11. With that strike, Darnold produced his first three-touchdown game of the season.
Darnold finished the game with 23 completions on 37 throws (62.2%) for 341 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He led four scoring drives and a 108.1 passer rating on the afternoon, but his three total turnovers — including two lost fumbles — took away the beauty of his passing performance in the loss.
Rushing Defense
B. The Buccaneers came into the game with the worst run offense in the entire league. Throughout most of the game, the Panthers helped Tampa Bay stick to that lowly script.
Running backs Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White combined for just 18 yards on eight carries in the first half, forcing the offense to go one-dimensional with the passing game.
The Panthers run defense held Tampa Bay to just 67 rushing yards and a touchdown — scored on a sneak by Brady — on 25 carries.
Passing Defense
F. The Panthers did a nice job of containing Brady and the Buccaneers’ passing attack on the opening drive. The opening defensive series was aided by defensive end Brian Burns drawing an offensive holding penalty and hybrid defender Sam Franklin forcing a fumble on a 28-yard catch by wideout Chris Godwin.
The success continued on the next series as linebacker Frankie Luvu created pressure to create opportunities for teammates. Much-maligned defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos picked up a sack after the Panthers sent extra pressure up the middle against Brady to force the Buccaneers off the field.
On the third series, the Buccaneers made an effort to get wideout Mike Evans involved. Brady and Evans connected on three completions for 24 yards during the drive. But, on third-and-11, cornerback Josh Norman did a nice job in coverage against wideout Julio Jones and forced the Buccaneers to try a 53-yard field goal attempt that was missed.
The Buccaneers finally made a huge play in the passing game late in the first half. Evans ran by fill-in starting cornerback Keith Taylor Jr. on a “go” route for a 63-yard touchdown. Brady put the ball on the money as Evans streaked down the field with Taylor roughly 2 to 4 yards behind him the entire way to end zone. The score was Evans’ first in 12 games.
Brady and the Buccaneers’ passing offense started to find their rhythm in the third quarter. Brady led the Buccaneers on a 15-play, 90-yard drive, which was anchored by the connection between the quarterback and Godwin. However, the Panthers’ defense made an excellent stand on third-and-goal, which led to a blocked field goal on special teams.
However, on back-to-back drives, Brady hit Evans for touchdown scores of 53 and 30 yards to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Evans blazed past cornerback C.J. Henderson on both long scores, which ultimately helped Tampa Bay clinch a division title.
Brady completed 34 of 45 passes (75.6%) for 432 yards and three touchdowns. Evans had 10 catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns.
Special Teams
A. The Panthers’ special teams performance was highlighted by a blocked 26-yard field goal attempt. Gross-Matos, who has been a lightning rod for criticism on defense, came up big with the block of Succop’s chip-shot kick.
Punter Johnny Hekker averaged 50.2 yards per punt and pinned three attempts within the 20-yard line. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro made all three of his extra-point attempts and a 49-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
Returning punt returner Andre Roberts averaged 3 yards per return on two attempts.
This story was originally published January 1, 2023 at 4:38 PM.
