5 Carolina Panthers with work to do ahead of Week 5 vs. Eagles
By Dean Jones
Matt Rhule – Carolina Panthers HC
There appears little doubt that Matt Rhule has the Carolina Panthers trending in the right direction. Perhaps even sooner than even the brightest optimist expected.
However, the team’s loss at the Dallas Cowboys was another glaring indicator that his management of in-game situations must improve if Carolina wants to enter the playoff discussion in 2021.
A disastrous third quarter put the game out of reach. Something that’s become an ongoing occurrence since Rhule and his staff took over.
Whether this is due to a lack of adjustments at the half or not having his guys ready to hit the ground running is up for debate. Even though they got away with this over the first two weeks, that wasn’t the case once the Panthers came up against a high-quality outfit such as the Cowboys.
Rhule’s decision to go for a long-range field goal also came in for criticism, especially as Dallas scored with tremendous field position just a few plays later.
The former Baylor man admitted after the game that he needs to do a better job.
He’s acquired enough NFL experience now for this sort of thing not to be a problem. The Panthers can ill-afford similar complications over the next month as they look to put themselves in prime position for a postseason berth.