Carolina Panthers grades suffer from poor Week 11 performance

Carolina Panthers performance grades suffer for second consecutive week.

The Carolina Panthers needed to bounce back from a disappointing performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers one week ago. They didn’t. Given extra time to prepare and rest after a Thursday night game, the Panthers woes away from Bank of America Stadium continued.

A hot start behind the 90-yard drive that ended with quarterback Cam Newton finding tight end Greg Olsen for a touchdown, fizzled after the defense allowed an immediate scoring answer. Missed opportunities haunted Carolina for the remainder as the Panthers fell 20-19 to the Lions.

Quarterback – B-
Newton missed the pass attempt to Jarius Wright on a two-point conversion attempt and everyone miraculously forgets about the five to seven passes earlier which potentially could have changed the outcome had they not been dropped. A 357 yard effort with three touchdowns keeps his grade up despite not connecting on the final play.

Running Back – C
McCaffrey continues to contribute through the air but his effort on the ground seemed to be forgotten despite Carolina never trailing by more than one score. He averaged over four-yards per attempt but was only granted 13 carries in the game.

Receivers – C
If possible to give individual grades here, then there would be at least one A handed out as rookie D.J. Moore finished with 157 yards and a touchdown – maybe two, but one undeniable F gives this group an average outcome. Devin Funchess looked lethargic the entire game, not only dropping passes but failing to block on the outside. Twice, two big (potentially scoring) plays were ended as a result of Funchess loafing on the outside.

Offensive Line – C
Protection during obvious passing downs is something that needs to be addressed. Three times Newton was brought to the turf and each occurred on third down. However, this group did rebound slightly from a dismal outing at Pittsburgh.

Defensive Line – D-
The defensive line continues to be shredded in the run game. Opening holes up front, opposing offensive lines have dominated the usually potent defensive front of Carolina. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been under constant pressure over the past few weeks but rarely was moved out of the pocket on Sunday.

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Linebacker – C
A strength of the Panthers defense, if not for this group’s effort, the results would be exceedingly worse. Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson are all continually making plays, both when it is their play to make and if they’re needed to pick up the slack from a teammate.

Secondary – C
The Panthers secondary had good and bad moments against Stafford and the Lions receivers. James Bradberry allowed a touchdown in addition to a few other completions but his play remains one of the strongest on the outside for Carolina. Safeties Mike Adams and Eric Reid combined for 14 tackles mainly as a result of Detroit reaching the second level and them keeping plays from going all the way.

Special Teams – F
A 10-yard penalty on the opening kickoff put Carolina into a hole they were able to battle out of, reaching the end zone for a touchdown. However, a 34-yard field goal attempt and missed point after touchdown kept Carolina playing catch up and ended with Gano not being relied on to tie the football game.

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Overall, a second consecutive poor performance which leaves Carolina essentially looking at the playoffs by virtue of a wild card.

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