4 takeaways from Panthers’ 32-6 loss to Buccaneers
Amidst the constant substitutions under center, the boos and the “Fire Rhule” chants was much more than a 32-6 defeat. There were also some difficult truths for the Carolina Panthers to swallow.
Here’s what we can take away from Sunday’s complete failure, this time courtesy of the new NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The offense is broken, no matter the QB
AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman
Cam Newton wasn’t great. Sam Darnold wasn’t great. But what’s even less impressive is the overall state of the offense.
At this point of the season—or perhaps the entire rebuild as a whole—there’s just no fixing this side of the ball for the Panthers right now. The offense line threw out its 11th different starting lineup, the lack of chemistry between its passers and receivers is painfully evident and they’ve still been without their centerpiece in running back Christian McCaffrey.
Oh, and they sorta went through a key switch under the headset 13 weeks into the campaign. Compounding that with this hot potato two-quarterback approach probably isn’t helping either.
All those issues continued to show on Sunday—where they converted just seven of their 18 third-down tries, allowed a damaging seven sacks and failed to hit the end zone for now the third time this season.
But that QB will probably be Sam Darnold
AP Photo/Rusty Jones
Although he cycled through Newton and Darnold throughout the afternoon, it’s the latter quarterback that head coach Matt Rhule has more invested in. Because it won’t be Cam costing him two draft picks, $19 million in 2022 and another piece of his reputation.
Just a few hours prior to kickoff, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport noted that the Panthers will look to get the starting reins over to Darnold sooner rather than later. That process may have begun in Week 16, where the fourth-year passer took 21 more throws than the current incumbent.
Those throws didn’t result in much, with 15 of the 32 being completed for 190 yards. 63 of those yards, by the way, came off some busted coverage on Tampa Bay’s part.
Regardless, Darnold is Rhule’s project, not Cam. So as much as this fan base has come to value its franchise’s greatest player, his timeline may not continue to jive with that of the current regime’s.
And neither were helped by the offensive line
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
As we just referenced, the Panthers have had themselves a tiring game of musical chairs on their offensive line this season. Week 16, again, marked the 11th unique configuration over the team’s 15 games.
Whether by injuries or coaches’ decisions, that shuffling has bred a toxic lack of continuity—perhaps the last issue you’d want a front to face. The other is an overall lack of talent, which Carolina seemingly has in spades as well.
This game saw Newton and Darnold sacked a combined seven times. The group also had trouble opening space for its running backs, who totaled 14 yards on nine carries. (Yes, you read those numbers correctly.)
The defense takes another step down
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The good ol’ days for this team seem to be that three-week stretch in beginning the season. You know, when they started out a relatively dominant 3-0.
Some of that success came as a result of a stingy run defense. Through that trio of performances, the group allowed just 45.0 rushing yards per game at a minuscule pace of 2.6 yards per carry.
Where has this defense gone? Well, wherever they are, they aren’t putting on any Panthers uniforms.
While that output certainly wasn’t sustainable, what’s happening now is a far cry from it. The Buccaneers offense dissected Carolina, picking up seven of their 14 third-down attempts en route to 391 total yards on the day.
And, normally, holding quarterback Tom Brady to just 232 passing yards on an 18-of-30 completion clip gives you a solid chance to conquer “The GOAT.” But allowing 159 yards on the ground, including a 55-yard score, won’t.
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