The slide for the Carolina Panthers continues. Today’s 38-6 road loss to the Indianapolis Colts was their seventh in as many games.
Here are seven takeaways from yet another humiliating loss.
Will Grier was bad, but showed some potential
It wasn’t pretty and he missed a lot of passes, but the Panthers did see flashes of promise from their third-round pick. Grier’s first couple of drives did not go well. He got into a rhythm in the second quarter though and made some respectable throws, especially one for Jarius Wright in the corner of the end zone that almost went for a touchdown. Grier finished the afternoon 27/44 for 224 yards and three interceptions. Obviously, he still has a lot of developing to do. It’s a shame we’ll only get two games to evaluate Grier, because there’s some real potential here.
Carolina’s punt coverage was a disaster
Carolina got into an early hole thanks to two disastrous punt returns by Nyheim Hines. Brian Burns prevented a touchdown on the first but he still put the Colts in scoring position. The next time, Hines went all the way, scoring on an 84-yard return. That made it a 14-0 lead for Indianapolis and set the tone for the game. Hines wasn’t done yet, though. He added a cherry on top in the fourth quarter with another punt return touchdown, this one going for 71 yards. Under former coach Ron Rivera, punt coverage was a strong suit most of the time. It’s a sign that the team’s discipline is slipping. Vernon Butler’s behavior was another.
Christian McCaffrey had another productive day
We ran out of superlatives to describe McCaffrey’s season very early on. Despite a solid game defensively by Indianapolis, No. 22 had another productive game, posting 173 total yards from scrimmage on 28 touches. It would make a lot of sense for the Panthers to rest McCaffrey next week against the Saints. It’s probably not going to happen, though. That should give him a good chance to break a few more long-standing records.
The offensive line has a lot of room to grow
Pass protection has been an issue for the Panthers offense all year. That trend continued today, with the offensive line giving up sacks in key moments on Grier. Left tackle Dennis Daley and left guard Daryl Williams continue to be the worst offenders of late. Daley allowed Justin Houston to get to Grier on fourth and goal and later Williams inexplicably whiffed on a block that set the offense back during a promising drive. Grier was sacked five times and hit seven times in the end. There’s not much that can be done about it now, but once again this is an area the front office needs to address.
The worst run defense ever?
Another familiar theme in this loss was Carolina’s complete inability to stop the run. Indianapolis running back Marlon Mack posted 95 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries (5.9 yards per attempt). Backup Jordan Wilkins was also efficient, totaling 84 yards and another score on just nine runs. The Panthers have now allowed more rushing touchdowns this year than any team since the infamous 2008 Lions, who went 0-16.
Perry Fewell benched Donte Jackson on defense
After weeks of struggling in coverage, second-year cornerback Donte Jackson finally got benched in favor of Ross Cockrell. It’s probably best to let Jackson take his lumps and learn from them, but it was an understandable decision by interim head coach Perry Fewell, who is coaching to win right now rather than thinking about the future. Cockrell’s performance was solid and he made a few notable stops. Carolina needs all the depth at cornerback it can get, so re-signing him next year is a good idea.
Moore injuries
Finally, the Panthers continued to suffer misfortune with injuries, as they have all season long. Second-year wide receiver D.J. Moore had been on a tear coming into this week. He left the field early though and was ruled out due to a concussion after just one catch for one yard. Later in the game, Brian Burns suffered a shoulder injury on special teams. This is an unavoidable part of the sport. Hopefully in 2020 their luck will be better.
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