Carolina Panthers’ grades are in — and they aren’t pretty
The Carolina Panthers continued to deteriorate before our eyes Sunday.
Indianapolis handed the Panthers their seventh straight loss, blasting Carolina 38-6 in a game that was never close after the first quarter. Grading the Panthers as they dropped to 5-10 in a season most everyone just wants to be over:
Passing offense
D-minus: Rookie Will Grier’s first start for his hometown NFL team was bad unless he was throwing to No. 22. Grier threw three interceptions and never could convert in the red zone. He was also hampered when Carolina’s best wide receiver, DJ Moore, left in the first quarter with a concussion and didn’t return. Curtis Samuel was no factor. Christian McCaffrey was the go-to receiver and lone bright spot, catching 15 passes on 15 targets for 119 yards.
Rushing offense
D-minus: The Panthers were down 14-0 before they made a single first down, so once again they played catch-up throughout the afternoon and mostly threw the ball. McCaffrey found a few holes and made several defenders miss as usual, but there were no big plays of substance. On a critical fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter, the Panthers went away from McCaffrey and had Grier sneak it, for no gain, as the offensive line got pushed back in Grier’s face.
Passing defense
B-minus: The Panthers avoided getting beaten deep by T.Y. Hilton, but they got burned over the middle by tight ends several times. Indianapolis quarterback Jacoby Brissett — running mostly a no-huddle offense early — stepped out of several potential sacks, most notably when Panthers safety Eric Reid had a free shot and completely whiffed on a blitz. Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson, who has been victimized on big plays numerous times over the past two weeks, was benched in favor of Ross Cockrell, who was solid. Brissett didn’t throw a TD pass but was hurt by several drops.
Rushing defense
F: The weakest aspect of Carolina’s defense was thoroughly exploited once again. The Panthers gave up three rushing touchdowns, moving their season total allowed to 29. That’s the most any NFL team has given up since the 2008 Detroit Lions, who went 0-16.
Cockrell did make a big play on a fourth-and-1 in the second quarter, stopping Marlon Mack inside the 5 for a turnover on downs. Vernon Butler drew a personal foul and got thrown out of the game after punching Colts tight end Jack Doyle in the face in the third quarter and then flipping the bird at Indy fans on his way out of the stadium.
Special teams
F: The punt coverage was beyond awful. Carolina allowed a 40-yard return to the Colts’ Nyheim Hines to set up the game’s first touchdown. Then, still in the first quarter, Hines got a second chance at a punt return after the Panthers’ Jackson (playing gunner after his demotion out of the starting lineup) wasn’t set before the snap. Hines made the most of it on his next try, going 84 yards for a TD, pushing Indianapolis to a 14-0 lead and basically ending the game in the first quarter.
Then, unbelievably, Hines did it one more time, going 71 yards with another Palardy punt for another TD in the fourth quarter.
Coaching
D-minus: Panthers interim head coach Perry Fewell took some gambles that didn’t work out, including going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 5 in the first quarter (Grier got sacked). Butler’s ejection and subsequent bird-flipping of the Colts fans in the third quarter isn’t really Fewell’s fault, but it doesn’t look good for anybody in charge when a player does that. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s play-calling couldn’t make a dent.
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 4:04 PM.
