Grading the Panthers as Carolina fumbles away strong effort in overtime loss to Buccaneers
A pair of missed field goals and a questionable ruling on a potential touchdown catch played a heavy hand in the Carolina Panthers’ 26-23 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
The typically steady kicker, Eddy Piñeiro, missed a pair of routine field-goal attempts in the first half. And a potential touchdown completion between quarterback Bryce Young and wideout Adam Thielen in the back of the end zone was ruled incomplete in the second quarter, which led to Carolina settling for a field goal.
But perhaps the biggest blunder of the evening was a fumbled-away turnover by running back Chuba Hubbard in overtime. The Panthers (3-9) were driving and Hubbard coughed up the ball in Buccaneers territory. Tampa Bay’s running game then took advantage as the Buccaneers (6-6) drove their way into Carolina territory for the game-winning field goal.
Those four miscues put a huge damper on what was a pretty solid performance for the home team. A week after head coach Dave Canales lamented missed opportunities in the team’s narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the game-changing conundrums against the Buccaneers were evident and overwhelming.
Even as the defense showed up relative to its past performance, and Young performed like a solid NFL starting QB, the Panthers ended up dropping another home game to a better team.
This game was winnable and there were several key contributors, but the Buccaneers overcame two interceptions from QB Baker Mayfield and took advantage of Carolina’s confounding missed opportunities in a close, back-and-forth battle.
Here is how The Observer graded out the Panthers’ performance against Tampa Bay:
Bryce Young, Panthers’ pass offense vs. Buccaneers
The Buccaneers’ defense came into the matchup allowing 255.5 passing yards and 21.8 first downs per game.
After two three-and-outs, the Panthers’ passing offense finally found success with a toss from Young to rookie running back Jonathon Brooks. Young evaded pressure by throwing to Brooks in the flat, and the rookie surged up the field while shaking two defenders for a gain of 18 yards. Brooks then had an excellent pressure pickup up the middle as Young tossed a 13-yard completion to wideout Xavier Legette. Young ended up leading his first scoring drive of the game by completing 3 of 4 passes for 38 yards. A 47-yard field goal capped the drive.
Young made a huge highlight play on the very next drive. With pressure inching toward him, Young evaded a sack, moved to his right and unloaded a rainbow heave down the sideline to tight end Tommy Tremble. The tight end grabbed the ball after springing free from a defender and picked up 38 yards on the catch. The play put the Panthers deep into Bucs territory, but a missed field goal a few plays later squashed the success of the series.
Young continued to deal within the second quarter. Despite two missed field goals, Young wasn’t deterred by negativity, as he slung the ball all over the yard, completing 15 of 26 passes for 186 yards in the first half. Tremble caught three passes for 63 yards in the first half, while Adam Thielen added four catches for 43 yards.
Thielen came close to hauling in his second touchdown of the season but a bobble in the back of the end zone led to a reviewed call to be upheld as an incompletion.
The Buccaneers took a 17-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Panthers responded with a three-and-out following a big first-down sack.
The Panthers were forced to go to the air for the final drive of the game. Young delivered on that need with passes to Tremble, wideout David Moore and Hubbard. He capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown strike to his most dependable weapon, Thielen, on a crossing route. The ball was thrown on a rope to the streaking Thielen, who hauled in the score.
Young completed 26 of 46 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown. He finished with an 83.4 passer rating. Thielen finished with eight catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Tremble added 77 yards on five catches, while Moore hauled in five grabs for 40 yards.
Legette had a drop but picked up 53 yards on four catches.
Grade: B+
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina run offense vs. Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay came into the game allowing 120.7 rushing yards per matchup, which ranked 16th in the league.
While Hubbard got off to a slow start, the running game started to move the ball in the second quarter. Hubbard had an excellent 7-yard pickup that was also aided by a personal foul penalty on Tampa Bay’s defense. A few plays later, Young, who was showing clear improvement with his scrambling ability, picked up 10 yards and a touchdown on an improvised jaunt to pay dirt. Young dove to hit the pylon as defenders closed in on him. It was only the second rushing touchdown of his career.
Hubbard and Brooks combined for 23 rushing yards on nine carries in the first half. But Young picked up 12 yards and a touchdown on two totes in the first two quarters.
Hubbard and Brooks became more involved in the second half. Brooks was given a handful of carries in the red zone but failed to hit the end zone.
Hubbard fumbled the ball away in overtime while the Panthers were driving to a potential winning field goal. Bucs defensive lineman Anthony Nelson ripped the ball loose and Tampa Bay recovered. It was Hubbard’s second lost fumble of the season.
Hubbard finished with 43 yards and a lost fumble on 12 carries. Brooks gained 18 yards on six carries.
Grade: D
Jaycee Horn, Panthers’ pass defense vs. Buccaneers
The Buccaneers’ offense was averaging 241.5 passing yards per game, which ranked sixth in the NFL.
The Panthers’ pass defense wasn’t really tested until late in the second drive of the game. While cornerback Jaycee Horn made an excellent pass breakup in the end zone on second-and-5 in the red zone, fellow cornerback Mike Jackson was whistled for a pass interference penalty on the very next play. With the Bucs on the cusp of pay dirt, Mayfield predictably targeted wideout Mike Evans on an isolation route against Horn. Mayfield tossed the ball where only Evans could catch it on the fade route, and Evans made a exceptional catch in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Panthers were able to subdue Mayfield and the Buccaneers’ offense early in the second quarter. Pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney picked up a huge sack on second-and-20, deep in Tampa Bay territory, which doomed a pitiful drive. The Buccaneers punted just two plays later.
Mayfield was able to bounce back from a couple of failed drives by targeting Evans down the field. That strategy worked out well as Evans was able to pick up two huge gains on the Bucs’ second scoring drive. Carolina’s zone-heavy coverage group was knifed through by Evans and that led Tampa Bay to the Panthers’ 4-yard line. Fortunately for Carolina, Tampa Bay was whistled for a false start on third down, which pushed the Bucs back to the 9-yard line. Horn locked up wideout Sterling Shepard on a fade ball in the end zone and Tampa Bay settled for a 27-yard field goal that tied the game with 3:40 remaining in the first half.
Following a missed field goal, the Panthers’ defense was whistled for a big pass interference penalty. Immediately after that, the Bucs produced another first-down gain on a pass from Mayfield. But rookie Chau Smith-Wade, who started in the nickel position over veteran Dane Jackson, made an impressive interception toward the sideline with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
Mayfield finished the first half with 96 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception on a 43.8% completion percentage. He had a 58.3 passer rating in the first two quarters.
The Panthers’ front seven continued to create pressure in the second half. Outside linebacker Amare Barno took Mayfield down for a sack in his return to the lineup from a year-long stint on the sideline with an ACL injury. That sack was followed up by a sack from linebacker Josey Jewell on third down. The back-to-back sacks forced a punt.
Mayfield was injured during the sack by Clowney. He hurt his leg and was replaced in the game by backup Kyle Trask for two plays in the third quarter. But safety Xavier Woods welcomed Mayfield back onto the field with an interception and a return of 33 yards. It was the second interception of the game for Mayfield. The turnover set up a 22-yard field goal, which extended the lead to six points.
The Bucs focused on screens and the running game following Mayfield’s second turnover. That outlook predictably hurt the Panthers, who struggled to tackle ball carriers.
Rookie Trevin Wallace produced his first career sack on Mayfield in overtime.
Mayfield completed 21 of 33 passes for 235 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a 69.6 passer rating in the matchup. Evans caught eight passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Cade Otton caught four passes for 20 yards.
Mayfield was sacked four times in the game.
Grade: B
Josey Jewell, Carolina run defense vs. Tampa Bay
The Panthers predictably struggled against the run early. While Jewell was able to take advantage of a mishandled snap for a 7-yard loss on a tackle of Mayfield, the running game for Tampa Bay churned the ball up the field for a good chunk of the first half. The Bucs’ running backs gained 63 yards on their initial 14 carries for an average of 4.5 yards per tote.
After a pair of turnovers from Mayfield, the Bucs focused on their short-yardage attack, going back and forth between runs and screen passes. That got Tampa Bay down to the end zone to begin the fourth quarter. Bucky Irving was the star of the scoring drive and he finished off the drive with a touchdown to help his team take a late lead.
After regaining the lead, Tampa Bay continued to ride the ground game. Irving picked up 43 yards on a huge carry as he evaded an open-field tackle attempt by Woods. The run defense, though, stepped up big on third-and-goal and made a stop for a loss on Rachaad White. That led to a chip-shot field goal, but kept the game to a one-score affair.
Irving produced 152 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts, while White picked up 76 yards on 11 carries.
Grade: D
Eddy Piñeiro, Panthers’ special teams vs. Buccaneers
Late in the first quarter, Piñeiro made his 41st consecutive consecutive field-goal attempt — a 47-yarder — at Bank of America Stadium. The 41st straight home field-goal make tied a franchise record set by Graham Gano. However, he missed his next two attempts — from 38 and 45 yards — in the second quarter. Piñeiro eventually corrected himself with a 27-yard make to end the first half. He was 2-for-4 on attempts in the first half. He added a 22-yarder in the third quarter to extend the Panthers’ second-half lead to six points.
Punter Johnny Hekker’s day got off to a bit of a rough start with two punts that averaged just 36 yards. He ended up punting five times for an average of 38.4 yards per attempt.
Cornerback Caleb Farley got whistled for a personal foul penalty on the opening kickoff of overtime, wiping out a great stop by the unit and setting the Bucs up at the 34-yard line to begin extra work.
Grade: D
Overall grade vs. Tampa Bay
The Panthers, for the most part, played a very good game on both offense and defense. But the special teams miscues and Hubbard’s overtime fumble came back to bite them as the Bucs were able to make up ground in regulation and win the game in overtime. The continued woes of the run defense didn’t help matters. While the Panthers’ passing offense played relatively clean football and the defense secured two turnovers, the Buccaneers, who came into the game with a better record, simply took advantage of the Panthers’ blunders when it mattered.
Overall grade: C
This story was originally published December 1, 2024 at 8:07 PM.
