3 things we learned from the Panthers’ loss at the Bucs
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers had no answer for Mike Evans
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Mike Evans was going to see a lot of targets in the absence of Chris Godwin. The stud wide receiver looked back to full health after being limited with a hamstring injury in Week 1 and he more than made up for lost time with a standout display against a suspect secondary.
The Carolina Panthers were unable to handle Evans for the majority of the contest. When Tom Brady needed to move the chains then he went in the Pro Bowl player’s direction early and often and it was a problem that the cornerback unit simply couldn’t solve.
Donte Jackson did have a nice interception that shifted the momentum for a brief period. And Rasul Douglas also held his own in the face of some concerted pressure to further enhance his overall influence on the defense after being the latest of arrivals to the organization.
Carolina’s cornerback unit is going to do a better job overall, especially when one considers the strength of wide receivers they are going up against during the season. This is just one of many concerning areas of their overall production. But a lot of their struggles have to do with a distinct lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks during the first two weeks of the campaign.