4 big disappointments in Panthers’ loss at the Saints in Week 7
By Dean Jones
Run defense
The key objective for the Carolina Panthers was to stop Alvin Kamara. This was more prevalent when one considers the Saints were missing the prolific wide receiver tandem of Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, which left options limited for Drew Brees in the passing game outside of the stud running back.
Simply put, Carolina had no answer for Kamara or anyone for that matter who had their name called to run the football. The Panthers gave up 138 yards on the ground in New Orleans, which also saw the defense on the field for far longer than they probably anticipated.
The time of possession stats makes it even more extraordinary that Carolina had a chance to win this one. They did eventually cut it down to around a nine-minute deficit by the end of the game, but allowing the Saints to control the clock so much in the first half hurt them considerably.
Kamara managed to get himself 83 rushing yards from 14 carries to go along with his 65 receiving yards from eight catches. Backup Latavius Murray secured 47 yards after being given 11 touches and the Saints gained some notable yardage from their outside running schemes throughout.
This was a problem that was especially evident last season in Carolina and after some improvements early on, they seem to be rearing their ugly head once again.