The Carolina Panthers have a run-defense problem, and the numbers are doing all the talking.
Through six games, no team in the league has been worse at slowing down opposing ground games. The Panthers are giving up 153.2 rushing yards per game, the only defense in the NFL allowing more than 150. They’re also the only team surrendering more than five yards per carry, sitting at 5.2.
Sunday’s 43-13 loss to the Buccaneers made the issue impossible to ignore. Tampa Bay didn’t need Baker Mayfield to light up the scoreboard - he threw for just 64 yards - because the ground game did the damage. Bucky Irving went for 106 yards on 24 carries, Kenny Gainwell added 88 on 14 carries, and Sean Tucker chipped in 52 on seven carries.
The Buccaneers opened with a 14-play, 70-yard touchdown march, and Panthers linebacker Bobby Okereke said that sequence helped set the tone.
“Obviously they found something today, and it’s a copycat league, so we got to stop the bleeding because teams are going to watch this film and try to exploit any weaknesses in our defense,” Okereke said, via Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com.
That wasn’t the only game opponents will circle on tape, either. Carolina also gave up 291 rushing yards to the Bears in Week 1, and those two outings are now the only games this season in which any NFL team has allowed 250 or more rushing yards. The Panthers have been leaking on the ground from the start, and the problem hasn’t gone away.
At 3-3, Carolina sits atop the NFC South. The record says playoff contender. The run defense says there’s still a long way to go before this team can be trusted in January.
In Other News...
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Todd Bowles has spent much of the season talking about the kind of team he wants the Buccaneers to be, and Sunday in the 43-13 win over Carolina offered another clear example of the blueprint. Tampa Bay leaned into its running game, stayed physical and handled the Panthers with the sort of discipline Bowles has pushed for since camp, turning a lopsided division win into another sign that the offense can impose its will when the ground game is humming.
Bucky Irving has become a big reason why. The second-year back has climbed to eighth in the NFL in rushing yards and is on pace for a career-best season after last years injuries slowed him down, giving the Bucs a runner who can keep drives moving and help control games. With the backfield producing and the offense looking more balanced, the bigger question now is whether this version of Tampa Bay can keep that edge when the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]
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One possible name being tossed into that conversation is Philadelphias Zack Baun, a player whose recent rise has made him a natural fit for teams looking to upgrade the middle of the defense. The question for Tampa Bay is whether the cost of making that kind of move matches the urgency of its season, since any pursuit would have to line up with both the salary and the draft capital such a deal would demand. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Win Didn't Silence One Big Baker Mayfield Debate
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One recent evaluation of the roster frames the next stretch of team building around the skill positions, where the Bucs need more impact and consistency to take pressure off Mayfield. There are still contract questions, current production to weigh, and younger pieces trying to establish themselves, but the bigger concern is whether Tampa Bay can keep asking the passing game to carry so much of the load without adding more difference-makers on the outside and at tight end. [Read more 🡒]