The Panthers can go from good to great, but Bridgewater and Moore must take them there
The first football Carolina quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw to DJ Moore in a real game — slightly behind him but catchable — bounced off Moore’s jersey and onto the ground in Week 1.
The most recent two passes Bridgewater threw to Moore, in Week 6 against Chicago, resulted in a fourth-and-2 incompletion and a first-down interception to short-circuit the Panthers’ last two chances at winning.
And earlier in the 23-16 loss to the Bears on Sunday, Moore made an athletic move to get open for what could have been a two-yard touchdown pass. It wasn’t an easy catch to make, but as the defender fell to the ground, Moore had the ball in both hands before dropping it.
It’s unfair to single out only those four bad plays when you are talking about Bridgewater and Moore’s production, because they’ve made a lot of good ones, too. Moore is averaging a team-high 17.6 yards per catch for Carolina (3-3) and is tied for 10th in the NFL in receiving yardage after Week 6. He also drew a 33-yard pass interference penalty in Sunday’s loss to set up the Panthers’ only touchdown.
Still, the Bridgewater-Moore connection has been off-and-on, especially when you compare it to the efficiency of Bridgewater and Carolina’s other top two wide receivers.
When Bridgewater targets Robby Anderson, now the NFL’s No. 2 wideout in terms of yardage gained (566), the ball has been completed 78.4% of the time. The quarterback has thrown the football to Curtis Samuel only about half as often, but when he’s done so he’s completed 82.6% of his passes.
But when targeting Moore, who has 474 yards through six weeks, Bridgewater has completed only 56.3% of his throws. When the two connect, it’s often for a big play. But their chemistry, too often, is off.
For Carolina to upset New Orleans on the road Sunday, and for this offense to make a leap from good to great, Bridgewater and Moore — two of Carolina’s best players — have to be better together.
Panthers amplifying DJ Moore’s role
I asked Panthers coach Matt Rhule on Monday about Bridgewater and Moore’s timing. He said a concerted effort had been made in the Bears game to get the ball to Moore more frequently — particularly since Samuel was out with a knee injury.
Said Rhule: “I think there was a commitment — maybe from Joe (Brady, the offensive coordinator), but also from Teddy — to get the ball to DJ more often because he’s got a chance to be explosive. ... Just amplifying DJ’s role is important.”
It was amplified. Moore was targeted 11 times; no other Panther receiver was targeted more than five.
The results were mixed. Moore made a beautiful contested catch for 38 yards and ended up with 93 yards on five receptions.
“Throw that in with the deep ball down the sideline he gets pass interference on,” Rhule pointed out, which would add another 33 yards in gained yardage to Moore’s total.
Then there were the two significant mistakes.
Of Moore’s miscues, Rhule said: “He had two opportunities — two drops that would have been big plays. ... One of them in the end zone, and obviously the misfire on fourth down. So I think all of us left that game saying, ‘Hey, we always have to be a little bit better.’ ”
Moore said of the two balls he got his hands on and didn’t come up with that “every ball in the air, I think I should catch.”
Of Bridgewater’s final interception, Moore had no chance to make that catch, as the quarterback threw into heavy traffic and the defensive back was several yards in front of Moore when he intercepted it.
But on the fourth-and-2 play with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bridgewater’s throw led Moore inside while Moore kept going outside. That resulted in a wide-open Moore having to try to reach back for a one-handed reception, which he appeared to have until he hit the ground and the ball came loose.
“We just have to get the connection down, and I just have to catch the ball at the end of the day,” Moore said.
DJ Moore ‘is doing a great job’
Bridgewater praised Moore’s progress Monday, saying he has done a good job learning an offense that Bridgewater was further along in from the beginning due to his shared New Orleans connection with Brady.
“DJ is doing a great job grasping all the information that we’ve thrown at him,” Bridgewater said. “All this is still new to a lot of people … DJ is playing his a-- off for us.”
Moore, 23, was the Panthers’ first-round pick in 2018 and has been a heavy contributor since his career started. He had 788 yards receiving as a rookie and then broke out for 1175 yards in his second year, when he was clearly the Panthers’ No. 1 receiver. In both years, the percentage of targets he caught — first from Cam Newton, then mostly from Kyle Allen — was in the mid-60s.
Still, Moore and Anderson rank in the top 10 in NFL receiving yards. Only Dallas can also boast a similarly productive duo so far, with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb.
It’s not like Moore isn’t producing. Far from it. He had a 57-yard catch-and-run TD vs. Atlanta, and he’s on pace for a 1,264-yard season.
But here’s the thing: Moore could be great. At times, he displays every skill that a wide receiver could want.
To become great, though, he’s going to have to develop a better connection with Bridgewater. Because while it’s almost there, “almost” never quite works.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
