3 winners and 5 losers from the Panthers’ loss to the Packers: Constant issues continue sending Carolina spiraling after strong start to the season
The Carolina Panthers fell to 3-4 after a loss to the Green Bay Packers, and the performance on the field looked every bit as rough as last week’s blowout in Tampa Bay, even if the scoreboard didn’t show it.
The Carolina Panthers have dropped a second consecutive game and fallen to 3-4 on the season. All of the momentum this team carried into the bye week is gone. Carolina has gone 1-2 since the break, and even that lone post-win came against a banged-up Philadelphia Eagles team.
The last two weeks have left the Panthers in shambles. First came the blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then came tonight’s loss against the Green Bay Packers, a game Carolina still had a chance to win in the fourth quarter.
A one-possession loss looks better on the scoreboard than last week did, but on the field it was just as bad. Here are the winners and losers from this prime-time loss.
Loser: Carolina’s offensive line is a disaster
The biggest loser of the night on the field is easily the offensive line. Carolina was getting dominated on nearly every snap. I have never seen more quick sacks off a three-man rush than I have the last two weeks against this unit. It’s inexcusable.
It’s also not just one player. The Panthers were without their best lineman, Damien Lewis, so Corey Bullock stepped in at left guar, until he went down. Robert Hunt has struggled all season at right guard, and Luke Fortner has been the same way at center. Rookie Monroe Freeling had to start at right tackle after the Taylor Moton injury last week. Yes, he’s a first-round pick and should be better, but Freeling was an inexperienced developmental prospect who was never supposed to start this much. You can’t put this on him.
Left tackle Rasheed Walker belongs in his own category. I’m on record calling his $10 million deal a bargain given his experience and how cheap Carolina landed him. At this point, all of it’s a waste of money.
Walker can’t handle a bull rush, he’s drawing multiple penalties a game, and he’s gotten to the point where he’s unplayable. The problem is that the Panthers have no other tackles without Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton. With a long week ahead, moving Freeling to left tackle and putting Stone Forsythe on the right side might be the only option left.
Winner: Bryce Young doesn’t deserve the hate he’s getting
Quarterback Bryce Young is getting dragged on social media for this game, and the stat sheet won’t help his case. He completed 23-of-41 passes with one touchdown, an interception, and a 68 passer rating.
Now actually watch the game. The offense had to shift toward RPOs and short throws because Young had no time to push the ball downfield, and he still didn’t have time to execute those either.
Even the interception came on a tipped pass with Walker getting bull-rushed into his face. Young is also still dealing with a knee issue dating back to the Cleveland Browns game, which has limited his mobility. After the game, Young said he’s not thinking about his knee at all and how everyone’s banged up. I admire that, and that considering everything, Young did what he could with what little he had and kept this team in it.
This is supposed to be a major evaluation year for Young, who started the season looking like a potential MVP candidate. The last two weeks, this offensive line has given him nothing to work with. That’s not on him. Head coach Dave Canales said it himself, once they improve the protection, Young will start playing in rhythm and at a high level again.
Winner: Chuba Hubbard is a beast, but the Panthers are playing a dangerous game
Chuba Hubbard continues to be the workhorse for this team. He ran the ball 22 times for 81 yards and a touchdown and caught seven passes for another 38 yards.
He was the only offense Carolina had all night long it seemed like. And that’s also my biggest concern. If anything happens to Hubbard with how much this team is using him lately, this offense is completely toast.
I’d like to see Trevor Etienne or Tre Tyus get more work, and I don’t understand why AJ Dillon a healthy inactive after he looked good earlier in the season. Hubbard is proving he can handle the heavy workload, but all it takes is one injury to really make things horrid.
Winner: Big-play Jalen Coker delivered when the Panthers needed it
One more positive shout out goes to wide receiver Jalen Coker. Coker had a quiet night until it mattered most. On fourth down in the fourth quarter, he turned a catch into a 26-yard touchdown, weaving in and out of traffic and fighting his way into the end zone to make it a one-score game. It was a gritty play from a gritty player.
The final stat line of two receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown might not be eye-catching in the morning, but Coker is a big-play guy in clutch moments for this team.
Loser: Red zone defense didn’t help this team one bit
Defensively, the Panthers held up better than they did against Tampa Bay, especially in the run game. The red zone was where the problems were.
Green Bay entered the game as the third-worst red zone offense, yet scored four touchdowns inside the 20, with Josh Jacobs dominating close to the goal line and Tucker Kraft adding a score. Rookie safety Zakee Wheatley did pick off an awful Jordan Love pass from the 27-yard line, but Carolina couldn’t force enough field goals.
Loser: Injuries, injuries, and more injuries
The injury list keeps growing for this team. As mentioned before, backup left guard Corey Bullock left the game with a quad injury, pushing practice squad call-up Jake Curhan into the lineup as the third left guard.
The bigger blow was losing rookie cornerback Will Lee III, who left with a hamstring injury and went for X-rays after the 53-yard completion to Christian Watson. Carolina was already without Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and Akayleb Evans, who landed on injured reserve. That left Chau Smith-Wade and practice squad call-up Marco Wilson, who held up nicely early when he was targeted, at cornerback.
It’s getting dangerously thin on the offensive line and especially at cornerback.
Biggest loser: Panthers GM Dan Morgan for not recognizing how bad things have been getting
Which leads me to the biggest loser of the night, which has to be general manager Dan Morgan. Offensive line and cornerback have been issues, in both performance and depth, for weeks now well before the bye week. Morgan made no additions during the week off and continues to show no intention of making any.
It seems like Carolina is waiting on Ekwonu, Lewis, Horn, Jackson, and all these injured players to return, who may not all be back together until mid-November into December. By then, the Panthers might be out of contention.
The trade deadline is coming up on Nov. 10, and this long week ahead is the time to act. Quality tackles rarely become available, as we’ve seen with the Rasheed Walker experience, but cornerback help is out there. Carolina should have gotten someone weeks ago. That oversight is hurting this team at the worst possible time.
