Carolina has already given itself enough headaches through three weeks, and Sunday’s 21-18 loss in Cleveland only sharpened the problem. The Panthers were right there late, had chances to close it out, and let it slip away. Now Detroit is next, and if Carolina wants to get back to .500, there are a few things that need to look a whole lot different.
The first issue is hard to miss: too many drives ending in field goals. Ryan Fitzgerald hit four against Cleveland, and yes, that at least tells you Carolina has a kicker it can trust.
But it also means the Panthers kept moving the ball and kept coming away with three instead of seven. Carolina finished with 360 yards, so the offense wasn’t stuck in the mud.
The problem was getting close and not finishing. The Panthers didn’t reach the end zone until late in the fourth quarter, and in a game decided by three points, that kind of waste stands out.
The run game deserves more attention too. Bryce Young threw 48 passes on Sunday, and that’s still too much for a team that should be leaning harder on Chuba Hubbard.
Hubbard ran for 82 yards on 19 carries, and once the ground game got rolling, it felt like Carolina should have kept feeding it. Young does not need to carry everything, especially with an offensive line that’s had trouble protecting him.
He was pressured on 51 percent of his dropbacks against Cleveland, and asking him to throw that often behind that kind of protection is a tough formula.
Then there’s the quarterback run game on the other side of the ball. Caleb Williams went for 65 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Week 1, and Deshaun Watson added 45 rushing yards on Sunday.
That’s 110 rushing yards from two quarterbacks in two games, and it’s become a clear problem. Teams are going to keep testing Carolina that way.
If a quarterback can run, why wouldn’t an opponent try it? The Panthers haven’t shown they can shut it down yet, and whether the answer is a spy or a different approach to rushing the passer, the issue is on the table now.
The biggest miss, though, was the finish. Carolina led 18-13 with less than five minutes left against Cleveland.
The defense had a chance to end the game and couldn’t, and then the offense got the ball back after Cleveland scored. That possession ended with Bryce Young’s interception.
The loss doesn’t sit on one side alone, because both the offense and defense had opportunities to decide it. That’s what makes it sting.
And that’s also why the frustration is so real. Carolina has already shown it can win convincingly, beating Atlanta 34-3.
It also put itself in position to win on the road in Cleveland. The Panthers are getting close enough to matter.
Now they have to start cashing those chances in. Against Detroit, there may not be many more to work with.
In Other News...
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None of the three was suspended, so Carolina avoids a bigger hit to its depth chart. Still, the fines are a reminder that the Panthers physical edge has to stay within the leagues lines, especially with another tough opponent waiting and every roster spot carrying added weight. [Read more 🡒]
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The decision follows a recent interception that appears to have shifted the competition, and it leaves the Eagles with four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. McKee has also appeared in games this season, so this is not just a depth-chart formality, but a meaningful move in a crowded room where every snap has carried some weight. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Prime-Time Matchup Comes With A Weather Concern Fans Should Watch
The week 4 slate brings a familiar kind of football anxiety for Panthers fans, with Detroits trip to Carolina landing on a Sunday schedule that could be shaped by the sky as much as by the matchup itself. The broader forecast also has eyes on the Rams-Eagles game in Philadelphia, but for Carolina the focus is on how the conditions at kickoff in Charlotte may affect a home game that already carries plenty of attention.
The latest outlook calls for rain and possible storm impacts across several of the weekend games, and the Panthers prime-time slot is among the ones worth watching closely as Sunday turns into Monday around the league. With kickoff times, venues and weather all part of the equation, this is the kind of small pregame twist that can change how a game feels before the first snap, even if the on-field stakes stay the same. [Read more 🡒]