The Panthers have roster issues that will take at least one offseason to fix.
Their offensive line needs a makeover. The future quarterback is unknown and their best player (Christian McCaffrey) hasn’t remained healthy since coach Matt Rhule arrived in Charlotte.
Those ailments — plus just one week of practice time — put first-time NFL play-caller Jeff Nixon in a challenging spot Sunday against the Falcons. Experience favored Atlanta as defensive coordinator Dean Peas brought 17 years of NFL coaching expertise to Bank of America Stadium.
Yet Nixon and the Panthers’ offense showed promise in their 29-21 defeat. They executed enough to earn Rhule’s praise.
“I thought we moved the ball. I thought they completed more balls to more guys than we have,” Rhule said. “I thought we were more diverse.”
Let’s see if the tape agrees. Here are four plays that highlight how Nixon fared in his NFL play-calling debut.
Getting Robby Anderson involved
It’s been a frustrating year for Robby Anderson. After a career season last year, Anderson has been held to either one or zero catches five times. The entire Panthers offense regressed this season, which led to former offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s firing. DJ Moore should eclipse 1,000 yards again but he’s been the offense’s lone consistent threat.
That changed versus Atlanta when Nixon deliberately put receiver Robby Anderson in easy completion situations. Below, Anderson lined up as the No. 3 receiver to Newton’s left. The Falcons are in man coverage, with one safety over the top.
The Panthers run a corner concept, where the receivers outside Anderson run underneath in-breaking routes to hold any deep coverage. Then Anderson pushed 15 yards vertical before breaking for the corner. His defender aligned inside before the snap. This signals to Newton that the corner route should be his first read, which it was and he completed a second-and-10 pass for 23 yards.
Anderson caught a season-high seven passes for 84 yards. His 5-yard fourth-quarter touchdown — which cut Atlanta’s lead to eight — was his first score since Week 10.
Nixon kept Anderson involved regardless of who played quarterback. P.J. Walker threw Anderson’s touchdown. A few plays earlier, they connected down the right sideline by attacking the Falcons’ Cover 2 defense.
On this next play, Anderson is isolated as the X receiver at the bottom of the screen. At the snap, he released inside to avoid a jam technique from cornerback A.J. Terrell. Then Anderson settles underneath the high safety and bends toward the sideline. This gave Walker plenty of grass to throw Anderson outside and away from coverage.
Credit Nixon for putting Anderson near the football. The Panthers’ passing game isn’t complicated. Often the quarterback takes the first read, if available. Nixon understood that and made Anderson the primary target often.
Having an early plan
Before Sunday, the Panthers were last in the league in third-quarter points with just 18. Carolina’s inability to score after halftime was a key reason Rhule parted with Brady. Against Atlanta, Carolina scored on both of its drives to start each half. That shows Nixon has a plan and could execute it.
On the Panthers’ first possession, Carolina attacked the Falcons’ outside corners with quick perimeter throws. Newton started the game with three straight completions and capped the drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
Here is an example of how Nixon’s game plan stressed the Falcons defense from outside in. After picking up a quick first down, the Panthers went no huddle on their third play from scrimmage. Carolina stacked two receivers to Newton’s right, forcing the Falcons to pull an extra defender out of the box to defend against their unique alignment.
When Atlanta didn’t shift a defender outside, Newton knew immediately where to throw. He took the snap, set up and delivered an 11-yard screen pass to Moore.
As Nixon continued his up-tempo offense, the Panthers complimented their quick outside game with another perimeter throw, followed by three gashing runs inside. Nixon’s best two drives came when the Panthers played fast and forced Atlanta to adjust to them.
One-read throws
A glaring issue in the Panthers’ offense is their inability to develop a downfield passing game. There are several reasons for that. First, the offensive line isn’t holding in pass protection long enough for Newton or Walker to survey multiple receivers.
Newton’s average time to throw was 2.28 seconds, according to Pro Football Focus. Walker held the ball slightly longer at 2.56 seconds per dropback. Combining that data with film study reveals Walker and Newton are skittish in the pocket, likely from not trusting their protection.
Carolina primarily throws read-option passes and uses a three-step-drop quick game, which makes it a one-read offense. This works when your quarterback consistently diagnoses pre-snap coverage accurately. But when he’s wrong, it’s costly.
That’s exactly what happened on Newton’s pick-six. Nixon called an effective play against the Falcons’ man coverage. He sent running back Ameer Abdullah in pre-snap motion to widen safety Jaylinn Hawkins. When Newton saw Abdullah win inside, he keyed the throw without accounting for linebacker Mykal Walker sitting in hole coverage.
Had Newton seen Walker, he could’ve moved off his first read and settled for receiver Terrace Marshall crossing the field on a shallow route to his left. Instead, Newton threw it right to Walker and he returned it for a touchdown.
Nixon called a healthy game in his NFL play-calling debut. Had three Panthers’ drives not ended via turnover, then Carolina likely runs eight to 12 more plays and scores more points. Despite the giveaways, the Panthers threw for more than 200 yards for the first time since October.
Rhule has something to build off. By no means did Nixon reinvent the offense but he did distinguish an identity by setting a tempo and reviving the passing game.
