The Panthers got handed a couple of early openings Thursday night and turned them into very little, which made the trip to another blowout loss sting all over again. For a team trying to dig itself out, this was the kind of game that forces everybody to sit with it longer than they want to.
There were still a few bright spots buried in the wreckage. Rookie linebacker Jackson Kuwatch jumped the game’s first kickoff and forced a fumble that Nick Hampton recovered, giving Carolina an early spark on a unit that has taken plenty of heat.
But the offense did almost nothing with the gift. Right after the recovery and a first down, Luke Fortner got beaten badly in pass protection, Bryce Young had no chance, and the Panthers let a huge opening slip away.
Fortner’s run blocking was solid, but the protection issue was impossible to ignore.
Chuba Hubbard was one of the few constants. He has been one of Carolina’s most reliable offensive pieces all season, and that didn’t change here.
The only real twist was volume - he got more work in the first half than he usually does, since he has often been more of a second-half grinder this year. This time, he handled the early load and kept producing.
Derrick Brown also finally gave the Panthers something. He had pressure on Jordan Love and was effective against the run, too. It wasn’t enough to swing the night, but it was at least a reminder of what a good Brown performance looks like.
On the other side of the ledger, the secondary got thinner in a hurry. Will Lee left with a leg injury after a night that was already going badly.
He had committed two defensive pass interference penalties, including one on a 53-yard catch, and Carolina was left scrambling with Chau Smith-Wade entering a group that was suddenly down to its fifth and sixth corners. The injury wasn’t on him, but the penalties were, and they have shown up too often.
There was also a head-scratching contrast in the defensive backfield. Marco Wilson looked far better than expected after being pushed up into the lineup, which raised the obvious question of why the Panthers had been using Akayleb Evans so much when Wilson was available and Evans is a special teams ace. Wilson’s night stood out because the opportunity had been there earlier.
The tackle play was brutal in its own right. Rasheed Walker got beaten repeatedly in pass protection again, and his revenge game never got off the ground. He has started to look like the kind of free-agent signing nobody was especially excited about in the first place, even if the price was low.
Monroe Freeling didn’t escape notice either, even if most of the attention landed on Walker. The Packers worked the left side at will, but the right side wasn’t much better. The early returns on Freeling have been overwhelmingly negative.
Carolina’s coaching decisions didn’t help. Ejiro Evero had the defense looking more prepared and tackling better, but the blitz choices were rough, especially with the Panthers struggling to generate pressure against the second-worst offensive line. One third-and-13 call was particularly ugly and ended in a touchdown after an all-out look left too much space.
Brad Idzik had a better opening script and a decent start, but that quickly unraveled. After the first series, he ran out of answers to support Bryce Young or patch over the offensive line issues. His play-calling on the final drive was also poor.
The one other positive from the defense was that the unit looked more capable of tackling than it has at other points this season. But better tackling and a handful of individual bright spots were nowhere near enough to offset the rest of the night.
In Other News...
Panthers Loss Revealed Who Actually Held Up In Week 8
The Panthers Week 8 loss to Green Bay did more than add another result to the record. It also offered a useful look at which players managed to steady a lineup dealing with a makeshift offensive line and a thin cornerback group, and Pro Football Focus grades helped sort out who held up when the pressure mounted. Corey Bullock came out as the top performer up front, while Lee Hunter stood out on the defensive side in a game where Carolina needed reliable snaps wherever it could find them.
For a roster trying to survive injuries and patchwork depth, those evaluations matter because they point to more than just one rough afternoon. They show which pieces were able to function in a difficult setup and which areas still need help, especially on a defense that was already stretched at cornerback. The grades do not change the loss, but they do sharpen the picture of who the Panthers can lean on as the season keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Defensive Shakeup Puts One Big Question On Struggling Unit
The Panthers made a significant defensive change this week, parting ways with Ejiro Evero and turning the unit over to Todd Wash on an interim basis. Wash brings plenty of NFL experience with him, including past stops as a defensive coordinator with the Jaguars and work as a defensive line coach for multiple teams, while Carolina also widened AC Carters responsibilities in the shuffle.
For a defense that has struggled to find its footing, the move signals urgency as much as it does a fresh start. The coaching staff is being reorganized beyond the coordinator spot, too, with Jonathan Cooley released as the Panthers try to reset a group that has not produced the kind of consistency the organization needs. The biggest question now is whether the new structure can stabilize the unit quickly enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Biggest Problem
The Panthers moved quickly after their Week 8 loss to the Packers, parting ways with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive pass-game coordinator Jonathan Cooley in a clear sign that the defense had become the teams most urgent problem. Carolina pointed to the units struggles against the run and the steady stream of points it has allowed, making the changes less about one bad afternoon than a broader breakdown that had been building for weeks.
Todd Walsh will step in as interim defensive coordinator beginning in Week 9, giving the Panthers a new voice in charge of a defense that has been under heavy scrutiny. For a team trying to stabilize its season, the move puts the spotlight on whether a midstream reset can fix the issues that have been dragging the roster down and whether the front office is prepared to keep making changes if the response does not come quickly. [Read more 🡒]