Baker Mayfield made no bones about the magnitude of facing his old team to kick off the 2022 season. From allegedly telling a reporter that he was going to ‘eff’ up the team that gave up on him, or making shirts declaring that he was ‘off the leash’ – Mayfield wanted to show up the visiting Cleveland Browns more than anything.
But the Brown’s defense, led by Myles Garrett, brought the pressure to Mayfield and a disjointed Panthers’ offense before a dramatic late rally. Here are more observations from the Panthers’ 26-24 loss at Bank of America Stadium.
Welcome to the NFL…Rook
In my keys to the game, I said that the match-up between rookie left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and Myles Garrett was going to be a factor that determines the game. Garrett, as expected, dominated the match-up and turned discomfort into a half of dysfunction for the Panthers. Cleveland’s defense pressured Mayfield into a series of deflections and an interception. Carolina only produced six yards of total offense in the first quarter, because of this mismatch. Garrett imposed his will on Ekwonu and all he can do is take what he learned from this start and apply it throughout the season. Ekwonu will look overwhelmed more often than not, but he must remember that every game is for him to collect data to examine his strengths and weakness throughout the season.
Penalties Real and Otherwise
Carolina played an undisciplined game – racking up eight penalties for a loss of 96 yards. Granted the majority were legit, like the first-quarter pass interference call that lead to Cleveland’s first touchdown and Jaycee Horn was charged with his share of holding penalties, however, the roughing the passer call late in the fourth quarter was wrong and ruined the comeback.
Brian Burns did not smash his helmet against Jacoby Brissett’s. He did not hit him with a horse collar tackle. Burns was attempting to deflect the pass and hit the pads of tackle Jedrick Willis Jr. The action doesn’t justify the call.
More O-Line Miscues
Ekwonu wasn’t the only offensive lineman struggling in week one. Center Pat Elflein had issues snapping the ball to Mayfield. There were moments in the game where Mayfield appeared to have fumbled the ball. Elflein, like many on offense, is trying to adapt to a new system and trying to time his snaps with Mayfield’s cadences. When asked in the postgame about the botched snaps, Mayfield doesn’t believe they were timing related.
“You just got to feel the snaps. I’ll take the blame on that,” he said. “I just have to stay in there longer and making sure, especially in critical situations, I take care of the football .”
Something To Build On?
Carolina’s offense survived a rough start, but turned a corner when they made Christian McCaffrey and the running game a focal point to generate offense. While McCaffrey made timely plays, it opened up the offense and made Mayfield more comfortable as the game progressed.
In this 75 yard touchdown strike, Mayfield had just enough of time in the pocket to survey his options. McCaffrey was a short yardage option, but Robby Anderson blew past the Browns secondary for the easy score. The opening drives were not only scripted, but they seemed as if the plays were forced. Should the Panthers establish the run instead of going through the progressions of 15 scripted plays? What do you think? Let me know on social media and in the comments.