Panthers have identified what’s missing on offense after Week 10 loss, but the underlying issue still needs solving
The Carolina Panthers need to figure out how to get the passing game going.
The Carolina Panthers loss in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints was teach tape, let’s call it how it is, and it needs to be fixed immediately.
The Saints showed the formula of how teams can beat the Panthers’ offense and the Panthers themselves got too far ahead of themselves following a road win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 9. After a loss like that, you need to have a little soul searching and the answers are clear.
Preparation needs to be better throughout the week, first and foremost, and that falls on head coach Dave Canales. But, when it comes to specifically fixing the offense, it’s clear the Panthers need to find a way to make the passing attack with quarterback Bryce Young more respectable.
Panthers need to find out the true issues with the struggling passing game
Carolina has leaned heavily into the run-first approach on offense with running back Rico Dowdle now entrenched into the work-horse role. There’s nothing wrong with that, until a defense comes in with the intent to stop the run and force the passing game to beat them, like the Saints did.
When that happened, the Panthers had no answer for it. Young finished the game 17/25 passing for 124 yards and an interception with 21 attempts being throws of 10 or fewer air yards, according to Sports Info Solutions.
“I think it’s more of a group effort,” Canales said of the issues in the passing game. “Calling more of them — yes, let’s get some more opportunities. I will call them more when we have more success, and those things come alive for us. But we have to keep working together. We have to keep taking those shots in practice and make sure we feel comfortable with them.”
Canales saying “I will call them more when we have more success” is important here and has some merit to it when you look at the passing game by depth with Young at quarterback this season.
| 10 or fewer air yards | 10-15 air yards | 16+ air yards | |
| Comp % | 69.7 | 42.9 | 35.5 |
| Passing Yards | 974 | 304 | 233 |
| Passing TDs | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 2 | 1 |
Now, looking at those numbers, it’s obvious that further throws will drop the numbers some, so it’s worth looking at the context as well. Young’s 42.9 completion percentage on throws of 10-15 air yards ranks 34th and his 35.5 completion percentage on throws of 16+ air yards ranks 35th among quarterbacks with 10+ such attempts this season.
Things numbers can’t just be blamed on Young either, because we saw him find success on intermediate and downfield throws in the same system last season. So is it personnel? That’s a starting point to start assessing this week.
“Nah, we can’t point the finger and put it on Bryce. It’s a collective effort,” rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan said. “As well as receivers, we’ve gotta be able to make Bryce’s job easier. We can’t just be possession catchers. We’ve gotta be able to get yards after the catch, create explosives for ourselves. It’s not on Bryce at all.”
McMillan has been Young’s go-to pass catcher this season and the team’s lone reliable deep threat on offense. On throws of 10+ air yards, McMillan leads the team with 37 targets and 21 receptions, the next closest receiver is Xavier Legette with 20 targets and just seven receptions on such passes.
“It just comes down to us on the outside winning our matchups,” McMillan added. “When the play comes, we’ve just gotta make it.”
That goes back to building the connection between the quarterback and the pass catchers in practice, something Canales has been harping on with his offense going all the way back to training camp when it comes to downfield opportunities.
“It’s pretty simple when they’re playing single high and everyone’s at the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to make the most of those opportunities when we have ‘em, so that we are a balanced offense,” Canales said on Monday. “So it does play off of the run game, which we got going. But now let’s get the pass game going so we really can be attacking and the offense that I visualize for us.”
More urgency needs to be had when it comes to addressing this issue and getting these connections dialed this week. It’ll be something worth monitoring closely when the team takes the field again on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Carolina Panthers News
Panthers need to figure out what’s truly holding this team back before the franchise can take any legitimate steps forward
The Carolina Panthers have to go back to the drawing board after Week 10 loss.
