The Panthers’ first extended look at Brad Idzik’s offense with the starters on the field did not go the way anyone wanted. On Saturday, Bryce Young and the first unit got nine plays, and every one of them ended in a three-and-out.
That was the headline, and it was a rough one. Carolina managed one first down, but it was erased by a penalty.
Young was sacked on third down. On another third-and-short, pressure killed the chance to convert.
And over those nine snaps, the offense never even tried a throw beyond the sticks.
Given how well the offense had looked in the Hall of Fame Game and how much cleaner things appeared once the backups entered Saturday’s game, it would be easy to hit the panic button on the Panthers’ starting group. But that reaction would be premature.
There’s real concern here, especially since some of the failed plays came against Buffalo backup defenders. Still, this is not the moment to demand wholesale changes.
A big part of the problem was up front. Carolina was without Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt, and that showed. Pressure kept coming through the middle, running lanes were hard to find, and the backup guard depth looks thin.
The Panthers also had to roll out a completely new offensive line because of those absences. Monroe Freeling got his first NFL action.
Rasheed Walker took his first snaps for Carolina, and Luke Fortner did as well. That kind of group needs time to build timing and trust, and losing Lewis and Hunt made that process even tougher.
Chuba Hubbard’s absence mattered, too. Jonathon Brooks has looked improved and appears headed toward the RB1 job eventually, but Hubbard is still the lead back for a reason. Brooks was also back in game action for the first time in almost two years, so expecting him to be sharp right away was probably unrealistic.
Then there was the play-calling, which was surprisingly plain and not very effective. On one sequence, Carolina picked up nine yards on first down and looked set up nicely.
Instead, a Brooks run lost yardage, turning the situation into a likely passing down. Buffalo blitzed it well, and Young had nowhere to go.
That was the moment where a play-action call or a deeper shot would have made more sense, especially with third down still available to try to get the yardage back on the ground. Instead, the Panthers ran first, failed, and backed themselves into a bad spot. It was one example of Brad Idzik having a tough day.
So yes, there’s reason to worry, particularly if Lewis or Hunt miss any regular-season time. But this is still just nine snaps in a preseason that has plenty left to unfold. For now, it’s not enough to start calling for sweeping changes.
In Other News...
Panthers Preseason Opener Exposed An Early Concern Behind Robert Hunt And Damien Lewis
The Panthers preseason opener against the Bills did not do much to ease concerns about the depth behind their starting guards, and the spotlight quickly shifted to the backup options trying to hold up the middle of the line. Brady Christensen was back on the field after a torn Achilles, which gives his uneven debut some context, while Chandler Zavala also had a rough night as Carolina tried to sort out what it has behind Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt.
For a team that wants to feel better about its protection and run game, the bigger issue is how fragile the guard picture could look if either starter misses time. Analysts Mike Kaye and Jared Feinberg both pointed to the same basic problem: the Panthers need more from the players tasked with backing up Lewis and Hunt, because the drop-off was hard to ignore in the preseason opener. [Read more 🡒]
Darren Waller Just Put One Panthers Offensive Question In Focus
The Panthers have added a familiar name to a position that has not been central to their passing game in recent seasons, signing veteran tight end Darren Waller as they continue reshaping the offense around new coordinator Brad Idzik. Waller brings a proven resume, including a Pro Bowl nod in 2020, and arrives as a player who has already moved through several NFL stops before landing in Carolina.
What makes the move interesting is less the name value than the fit. The Panthers have used tight ends in only a modest way lately, so Wallers presence naturally raises the question of how much of a role Idzik wants to carve out for him. If Carolina is going to get a real boost from the signing, the answer to that usage question will matter as much as anything Waller has done before. [Read more 🡒]