Shattered Momentum: Is Carolina Destined for Disarray?
It truly is the lack of consistency for me. The second you begin to boast about them and begin to put your pride on display, you’re hit with that familiar clown-in-the-mirror feeling. Where does one begin? The Carolina Panthers played the Cleveland Browns, the Browns and somehow managed to fumble what was a very winnable game. From the sorry play calling to the no-show performance, all the Panthers hype we gave out after that Falcons win now makes us feel like we bought front-row tickets to our own circus.
This team is still collecting penalties like Pokémon cards. Multiple holding penalties, multiple false starts (three of which came from offensive lineman Robert Hunt), and illegal shifts. The Panthers actually managed to outgain the Browns in total yardage with 360 yards to the Browns' 259. The difference, Cleveland capitalized on the scoring opportunities.
At the end of Week 3, the Panthers rank 3rd in the league with 27 penalties, trailing only the Browns and Packers. At this rate, we might actually finish top 3 in a category this season.
This offense continues to struggle with the run game. In Week 2, the Panthers had a total of 56 rushing yards and this week a total of 82 rushing yards, all by an overwhelmed Chuba Hubbard who could not get it going. And somehow, we forgot about the experienced AJ Dillon, the running back we moved up given the injury to Brooks, who literally sat on the bench until the second half.
The defense actually played well for most of the afternoon, holding the Browns to under 260 total yards and just 13 points, until late in the fourth quarter. The turning point came on Cleveland’s final touchdown drive, which was extended by a fake, costly roughing-the-passer penalty. Princely Umanmielen and rookie Will Lee III were the standouts in this matchup. Lee had 6 tackles, 1 pass defended, and Umanmielen had 3 tackles, 1 sack. The defense was not without its woes, including missed sacks and dropped interceptions; we must take advantage of those situations when they come our way.
We suffered many casualties in Sunday’s loss to the Browns, most being significant losses. Three players left and never returned: Mike Jackson, Jalen Coker, and Jaycee Horn. This presents a major concern for Carolina’s defense: losing both starting cornerbacks, Horn and Jackson. Jalen Coker has been dealing with a Quad injury for the past few weeks now, so this was no surprise, but still a huge loss. The other two injuries came from offensive lineman Damien Lewis and quarterback Bryce Young. During today’s presser, head coach Dave Canales was asked about injuries, and as usual, “he didn’t want to get into specifics”, but signs are starting to point toward Horn being lost for the season. Not to mention his message to the fans that led many to believe that he will be out for the foreseeable future.
Week 3 left a lot to be desired, and it’s clear this team still has plenty to figure out. From dealing with injuries and getting more consistent performances from key players to cleaning up the penalties and costly mistakes, there’s work to be done on all sides of the ball. The talent is there, but the Panthers will need more discipline and consistency if they want to run close games into wins.
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