Carolina Panthers secondary is a liability right now

The Panthers’ secondary is in a rut right now.

It’s now time to address the elephant in the room. The secondary for the Carolina Panthers just is not that good right now. In Sunday’s loss against Seattle, they showed that they once again have trouble defending the deep ball. A few plays in particular cost the Panthers a chance at seeing a victory.

According to a report from Panthers.com, Seahawks wide receivers Tyler Lockett and David Moore both passed the 100-yard plateau. Lockett recorded 107 yards, while more totaled 103 yards. It was the first time the Carolina Panthers surrendered 100 yards to two receivers since November 26 of last season against the New York Jets. In particular, there were two key plays that sealed the Panthers fate. Not only were they key, they were backbreaking.

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First, it was a 35-yard catch allowed by Corn Elder into the hands of David Moore that put the Panthers in a tough spot. It came on a fourth-and-three play that saw the Panthers still holding a seven-point lead. Had the Seahawks not converted, it would’ve put the Panthers back in control of the game. Instead, it breathed new life into the Seattle offense.  The next big-play was allowed by Captain Munnerlyn. He allowed a 43-yard pass to fall into the hands of Lockett. That gave Seattle the opportunity to the game on the Jankowski field goal.

Per statistics from Pro Football Focus, Elder had a coverage rating of 60 in last week’s game against the Lions. That is not a bad number, but it is certainly one he can improve on. It is safe to say that Sunday left a lot to be desired. Munnerlyn was coming off a game against the Lions that saw him struggle. He had a coverage rating of 55.6, which is certainly not the worst number but it is a number that needs to be higher, particularly as he gets more snaps within the defense. Sunday’s performance probably did not help his case.

In his postgame press conference, head coach Ron Rivera was not pleased to say the least. Despite his displeasure, I wasn’t a fan of his response as it was stating the obvious.

"“Big plays. Balls over the top,” Rivera said. “Can’t allow big plays over the top.”"

You think, coach? Big plays over the top will kill any defense. It’s a movie that has been played out many times this season. Antonio Brown, Tyler Lockett, Kenny Golladay, David Moore. Those are just some of the names that have had a field day with the Panthers’ secondary. Now, I know the names I mentioned are a couple of very good receivers. They can make any secondary look bad. However, they have made the Panthers look really bad. Especially when throwing the deep ball, the Panthers cornerbacks have gotten exposed. If they have to face teams like the Saints and the Rams in the playoffs, it may be a short playoff run for them,  if they even make it.

Although the offense could have been better in some of those games, you need to be able to rely on your defense to make plays. Especially when  teams  know that your front seven is your strong point, they are going to do everything in their power to try to neutralize it. In that case, the secondary will be tested more. So far, they have not lived up to the test.

They need to be better. Today was a terrible performance and borderline inexcusable. Time’s slipping away from this team, and everybody needs to play better. It starts with the secondary. They need to step up over these next couple of games or they will be watching the playoffs from the couch.

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