Steve Wilks: ‘Third down is our nemesis.’ Here’s how PJ Walker will try to change that.

Running back Christian McCaffrey explained why the Carolina Panthers are last in third-down conversions and have run the fewest plays in the NFL.

“You gotta get the first downs,” he said Wednesday.

McCaffrey’s right. Against the Los Angeles Rams, Carolina averaged 8 yards to gain per third-down try and only converted two of 10 tries.

“We are not passing that line. We have to do a better job at passing that line,” McCaffrey explained when asked why the team struggles to advance the ball behind the first-down marker.

Again, correct. Starting quarterback PJ Walker faced eight third downs before leaving with an injury. On four of those plays, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo called a screen. Two others were run-pass options where Walker elected to hand it off to McCaffrey.

Only one of those eight attempts converted, a 14-yard McCaffrey rush on the team’s first series.

In McCaffrey’s defense, he probably does not have enough time in his post-practice schedule to explain why the Panthers’ offense cannot stay on the field.

Or as interim head coach Steve Wilks phrased it, why third down has become the Panthers’ “nemesis”.

“What happened in the second half is that we did not convert on third down, nor did we get off the field so the time of possession got lopsided there,” Wilks said. “Again, our nemesis has been third down and our goal this week is to correct that.”

Wilks is holding both his offense and defense accountable for its third-down execution on Sunday during a 24-10 loss to the Rams. In consecutive weeks against NFC West opponents (and without safety Jeremy Chinn, who is on injured reserve), the Panthers’ defense allowed 13 first downs on 24 third-down tries.

Through six weeks, the NFL average for third-down conversions is 40%.

Defense is hardly the primary cause of the Panthers’ losing ways, especially considering the offense has scored four touchdowns compared to the defense’s three scores. Cornerback Donte Jackson scored the team’s lone touchdown on Sunday. Kicker Eddy Pineiro is tied for 14th in points scored with 43. Punter Johnny Hekker’s 30 punt attempts (5 per game average) is tied for third-most.

Before Wilks was named interim head coach, third down was the offense’s nemesis. Nothing has changed.

Carolina struggles to score points because it runs so few offensive plays. McAdoo has called the fewest offensive plays because the Panthers cannot sustain drives by converting third downs.

Before Monday Night Football this week, the Panthers had run fewer plays in their six games than the Chargers had in their five games.

Wilks said both coaches and players need to do a better job executing.

“Schematically, we got to find a soft spot in the zone. If it’s man-to-man, we got to do a great job at winning at the line of scrimmage and creating separation, so the quarterback can get the ball out there,” Wilks said. “Everything is predicated off what you’re seeing in that situation. To answer your question, it is based off the defense and what they’ve given us, and making sure that we give the guys the proper tools.”

To the common eye, it did not look like it mattered what defense the Rams showed pre-snap. Carolina was determined to execute its horizontal-raid offense. According to Underdog Football.com, Walker recorded a -0.1 average depth of target against the Rams. He is the first quarterback to post a negative A-DOT (average depth of target) in the database’s history.

Walker hardly threatened the Rams’ defense deep. Wilks said that was a part of the game plan.

“When you look at an aggressive defensive line and how they penetrate, and really trying to get some things on the perimeter, that was part of our game plan,” he said.

Throwing quick and away from All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is fair logic. But Tampa Bay is just as stout and fast as the Rams. Plus the Buccaneers now have film on the Panthers’ lateral attack.

A few more vertical wrinkles must materialize for Walker if Carolina (1-5) wants to remain undefeated in the NFC South.

But Wilks does not expect his quarterback to solve the team’s continued third-down woes on his own.

“It could be a lot of reasons why,” Wilks said. “It could be the mere fact of some of the plays that we call. It could be the mere fact of we got defensively, the look that we got, the pressure. So I’m not going to put everything on him.”