3 winners and 3 losers from Carolina Panthers second preseason game
By Jason Huber
Carolina Panthers’ failure to convert third downs and in the red zone
Instead of singling out one player, the blame has to be put on all the Carolina Panthers for this issue.
Everyone knows Carolina was awful on third-down conversions and scoring in the red zone last season. Things haven’t changed in the first two preseason games.
On the team’s very first offensive drive following a Hasson Reddick interception, the offense completely stalled once they entered the red zone. And this was with Sam Darnold and a few offensive starters in the game.
After Darnold threw an incomplete pass to make it second-and-goal, offensive coordinator Joe Brady chose to give the ball to backup running back Chuba Hubbard three times to try and score.
He was unable to and even failed on a fourth-down attempt. That’s not all on Hubbard, though.
Some of the blame should be on Brady for not switching up the plays, and on the offensive line for failing to create enough holes.
On the second Carolina offensive drive, Hubbard fumbled the ball but the Panthers recovered it before a missed Joey Slye field goal.
In total, the team was 2-11 on third downs and 0-2 in the red zone. These issues just can’t continue to happen or it’ll be a long year.