Well, at least the Carolina Panthers came away with something on Sunday.
While their offense wasn’t up to snuff, the Panthers received one heck of a performance from their defense in the Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. And despite the final 13-3 tally on the scoreboard, the numbers in the box score show a praiseworthy performance for interim defensive coordinator Al Holcomb’s unit.
Carolina, in matching up with the league’s second-most productive rushing attack, managed to bottle up Baltimore for 115 yards on the ground. That effort halted an eight-game streak in which the Ravens notched at least 150 rushing yards—the longest such run over the past 37 years.
The Ravens rushed for “just” 115 yards today. That snapped a streak of eight straight games with at least 150. The only team with a longer streak over the past 37 years was the '85 Bears.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) November 20, 2022
When you break it down—the Panthers held quarterback Lamar Jackson to 31 yards on 11 tries, running back Justice Hill to 30 yards on seven attempts and starting back Kenyan Drake to 46 yards on 10 carries. And as far as Drake’s game-high output went, 29 of those came on one late escape.
Though the offense, again, let the team down in a tough defeat—it is inspiring to see the Panthers defense play their hearts out for Holcomb and interim head coach Steve Wilks. It shows there is a lot to build on in the future and how stout this group can already be.
