Why Panthers’ Matt Corral is more concerned about his eyes than his formerly injured foot
Matt Corral hadn’t played in a football game in 358 days. And his performance on Saturday, in a 27-0 loss to the New York Jets at Bank of America Stadium, was indicative of a long layoff against live action.
Corral was sloppy, as he held onto the ball for far too long against Jets defenders, who dominated the Panthers’ depth groups on the offensive line. When he did get the occasional clean pocket, Corral was erratic, either tossing short passes for minimal gains or firing inaccurate heaves to his receivers.
In a game that was supposed to be the culmination of Corral’s return from Lisfranc foot surgery — which cost him his entire rookie season — the second-year quarterback took a beating in the pocket and within the box score. Corral was sacked four times, fumbled twice (one came on a mishandled snap that was recovered) and threw a game-ending interception.
Following the blowout loss, Corral took responsibility for the seven scoreless series that he led in the exhibition opener after replacing rookie Bryce Young in the second quarter.
“I’ve got to clean up my eyes if we’re being honest,” Corral said. “A lot of guys in the locker room, the O-line, were coming up to me saying they could make it a lot easier, but it’s my job to get the ball out and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what they do. I can help them a lot more just by cleaning up my eyes and making quicker decisions.”
Corral, who was selected in the third round of last year’s draft, was given backup duty against the Jets with Andy Dalton sitting out of action. Corral is unmistakably the third-string quarterback this summer, but the Matt Rhule era holdover is trying to prove his worth when it comes to a spot on the 53-man roster.
Against a relentless New York pass defense, Corral offered up mediocre results as a passer. While he completed 15 of 22 passes, Corral finished with 63.8 passer rating, largely due to his game-ending interception and a yards-per-attempt average of 5.7.
“I thought Matt showed some flashes,” Panthers head coach Frank Reich said. “We will have to look at the film overall to kind of weigh and see why we didn’t score, why we didn’t get the ball down in there more often.”
While Corral’s night didn’t go as well as he hoped, the former Ole Miss quarterback said his previously injured left foot wasn’t a concern during the game.
Another positive sign came in the way of his nerves. Corral said the difference was “night and day” on Saturday when comparing his pregame nerves as a rookie.
“I was anxious (for) the first two snaps, but after that first series, finally getting back into the rhythm of things, I definitely missed that feeling of I may or may not get hit this rep, (and then) I’m alive,” Corral said. “I haven’t played football really since last August. It’s a long time. Again, it’s not an excuse for me making mistakes, I’ve got to do my job, but like I said (I’m) blessed to be out there and (I’m) going to get on the film and fix what was wrong.”
During the summer, former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly spoke to the team and told the players to be honest with themselves when they watch film of practice and the preseason, according to Corral. After a letdown performance against the Jets, Corral and company will have some tough conversations this week. Corral thinks Kuechly’s advice will be important following the blowout.
“I think the guys are going to be taking that initiative,” Corral said. “But it starts with the quarterbacks, it starts with me, for sure.”
Corral is competing to force the Panthers to keep three quarterbacks on the roster. He is also working to make sure Carolina doesn’t try to swap him out with a waiver wire claim or fourth-string quarterback Jake Luton.
Saturday’s effort wasn’t exactly what anyone had in mind, but Corral’s self-awareness and accountability should put him in position to rebound with two preseason games remaining before final cuts.
“It was a lack of execution from all positions, myself included,” Corral said. “We’ve got to watch the tape and fix it.”
More training camp reading at charlotteobserver.com:
▪ Panthers vs. Jets: Offensive line lets Bryce Young down, Sam Franklin makes big play
▪ Panthers’ offensive line holds meeting to address ‘not acceptable’ play in loss to Jets
▪ Rookie QB Bryce Young made his NFL debut for Carolina Panthers. It didn’t go well
▪ He’s a huge Carolina Panthers fan and podcaster. He’s also an inspiration
▪ How Panthers lineman went from loading Amazon trucks to signing with hometown team
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
