There are plenty of numbers and records that could be used to describe the Carolina Panthers’ loss to the Green Bay Packers.
It started horrifically on defense, but then there was a second half resurgence — including five sacks in the game — by the young group that should bring any Panthers fan optimism for the future.
Any 4-9 team heading into Lambeau Field to face the 10-3 Packers with quarterback Aaron Rodgers having an MVP-type season was set up to stumble. One team is headed to a top-10 draft pick. The other has its eyes on the Super Bowl. For the Panthers, the question was how apparent would the disparity be?
But any real chance they had to pull of an upset was lost in the second quarter on a first-and-goal play from the 1-yard line. A 12-play, 65-yard drive ended on a fumble by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. As he reached over the goal line, the ball was popped out of his hand and returned for 48 yards by Packers corerback Kevin King.
Instead of cutting Green Bay’s lead to 14-10 with what should have been an easy touchdown, the Packers scored seven plays later to go up 21-3.
This game appeared to be out of reach, and like they have done all season long, the Panthers made it competitive. Despite the effort in the final two quarters, the Panthers lost to the Packers, 24-16, to notch double-digit losses for a second consecutive year.
If Carolina scored in that first-and-goal situation, this game could have shifted sooner. Instead, it took an eighth game-winning or tying attempt by Bridgewater and the offense. And for the eighth time this year, that effort fell short.
But instead of the failure on the last drive being the glaring issue this time, it was an offensive mistake much earlier in the game.
The Panthers were down 14-3 when they began the drive that ended in the Bridgewater fumble. Not including the final play, Carolina ran 11 plays for 70 net yards. Nine of those plays were runs by running backs Mike Davis and Rodney Smith and wide receiver Curtis Samuel that gained 47 yards.
At halftime, when asked about the fumble, Panthers coach Matt Rhule told NFL Network sideline reporter Melissa Stark that he has told his team since Day 1 not to reach the ball over the goal line.
Offensive miscues and odd decision-making has been a hallmark of the Panthers' season, especially as of late. Why call that play if Bridgewater has been told not to do what he did? They were at the 1-yard line, options are limited for a quarterback sneak with a crowded box.
But offensive head-scratchers for the Panthers started in Week 1, when Bridgewater handed the ball off to fullback Alex Armah on fourth-and-1 from the Las Vegas Raiders’ 46-yard line instead of giving it to the team’s best player, Christian McCaffrey, with less than two minutes remaining.
Then in Minnesota, they didn’t get the play to Bridgewater in the huddle soon enough on third-and-goal and he missed a wide-open DJ Moore in the back of the end zone.
And the fiasco against Denver when the offense ran a play before the two-minute warning despite Rhule communicating that they should not.
The Panthers’ offensive coaches and the players have not been on the same page this season.
Did the Panthers lose because Bridgewater lost the ball on that play? It’s not out of the realm of possibility — that was a 14-point swing in an 8-point loss.
Those plays can’t happen. It’s not a one-time instance by Week 15; instead, similar errors have become almost expected from the Panthers this year and it takes away from a young defense limiting a Hall of Fame quarterback to 49 yards in the second half.
