5 things that might go wrong for the Carolina Panthers in 2021
By Jason Huber
Red zone offense woes continue
In Joe Brady’s first year as offensive coordinator, the Carolina Panthers’ offense showed potential but struggled big time in the red zone.
A lot of it could be attributed to the hesitant quarterback play from Teddy Bridgewater. However, he’s now on the Denver Broncos and things will have to change a lot in 2021 if the Panthers want to make the playoffs.
According to Team Rankings, the Panthers ranked 28th of 32 teams in touchdown scoring percentage in the red zone last season.
That was a huge drop-off from ranking 15th the year prior.
Now, not having Christian McCaffrey obviously makes a huge difference. Without him, Carolina struggled to find any type of consistency in the red zone.
But when it comes to throwing the ball in the end zone, Sam Darnold has plenty of weapons in D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, David Moore, Terrace Mashall, and Dan Arnold to connect with.
Bridgewater spoke out this offseason saying head coach Matt Rhule and Carolina’s coaching staff didn’t really practice two-minute or red zone drills – which sounded like sour grapes but also something to monitor this time around.
His comments can be taken with a grain of salt but if the Panthers show struggles in the red zone again this season even with a revamped offense, there will be a reason for concern.