Bryce Young stewed in his locker with his eyes burning holes in its right panel. Panthers public relations made him available at the podium, but he was already in film study mode. His mind served as the projection screen, replaying every errant throw, every interception and every sack he took in Carolina’s 17-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints. This loss hurt, and he wanted it to. Young wanted to soak in the pain. He wanted to feel it. He needed to.
This is the essence of accountability at its rawest. Young knew that the difference of being 6-4 instead of 5-5 on the season was controllable. It was a missed opportunity that he contributed to, and he owned it.
After playing complementary football in Week 9, the Carolina Panthers continue to get in their own way. After their opening drive, they could not maintain that momentum.
After their opening drive, Carolina had three consecutive three-and-out situations that led to a 10-7 deficit at halftime. The struggles were no better as the empty possessions mounted..
Here are more takeaways from the Panthers’ sobering Week 10 loss.
Rushed
The Saints’ defense made a point to sell out and take away Rico Dowdle and they did. Dowdle was fresh off a 130 yard performance against the Packers in Week 9 and was averaging 5.6 yards per carry. In Week 10 Dowdle was limited to only 53 yards on 18 carries (2.9 ypc), with his longest run of the day being 14 yards yet he still managed to score the Panthers’ only touchdown.
The Saints wanted to make Young beat them with his arm, and he couldn’t do it. The third-year quarterback completed 17 of 25 passes for only 124 yards, an interception and was sacked twice.
Young has passed for less than 200 yards in seven of his last eight starts. With a run-heavy team like Carolina, the numbers in the passing game won’t be impressive. Their passing game, however, should be effective. They have struggled to create consistent, vertical plays to stretch the field and serve as a counter when opponents try to take away the run. It is an area that Panthers head coach Dave Canales acknowledges that must improve.
“It’s something that we’re working on. It’s just taking advantage of these opportunities one-on-one down the field. From a gameplan standpoint, I got to make sure I’m putting my guys in the right spots, taking advantage of matchups,” he said.
Losing The Third Down Battle
Carolina’s inability to generate significant yardage on first and second downs put the offense in third and long situations which forces Young to throw deep. Regardless of what Young saw during pre and post snap reads, the opportunities to convert were not there. They were 3-for-9 (33.3%). A couple of conversions on those third and long situations could’ve kept key drives alive and clinched a win.
The Saints’ offense kept the chains moving, going 8-17 (47.1%) on their third downs. They kept their drives going by attacking the Panthers’ secondary. Granted, the secondary gave up some big plays, but they also kept the team within striking distance, which leads me to my next point….
First Quarter Clamps
The streak of the Panthers not allowing an opposing offensive touchdown in the first quarter continues ten consecutive games. Derrick Brown and A’Shawn Robinson intended to set the edges early and stifling Alvin Kamara’s impact, limiting him to just 12 yards on three attempts in the stanza. The goal line stance on Saints’ opening drive was classic Panthers’ bend, but don’t break defense. The strength and resilience of this unit in these situations has been underrated.
Better As Underdogs
The ongoing theme for Carolina this season is that they win games that they aren’t supposed to, but drop the games that they are favored in. It is easy to assume that they intentionally play down to their opponents as favorites. I believe they play up to the competition when they are underdogs. I also believe that it’s the same case with opponents who the Panthers are favorite against. Teams are slowly coming to the realization that the Panthers are a competitive team that can scrap for a win and that’s something that no team should take lightly.