What were some major factors to blame for the Carolina Panthers’ third loss of the season against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6?
It was almost a comeback for the ages. But in the end, the Carolina Panthers fell to their third straight loss against the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium.
Matt Rhule’s men now find themselves at 3-3 after a promising start to the campaign, with their season threatening to spiral on a downward slope. If things don’t collectively improve, it’s going to be a long second half of 2021 as the Panthers‘ schedule gets much tougher.
This was a tough one to take. Carolina clawed their way back with a 98-yard drive and two-point conversion to send things to overtime, even though it wasn’t enough to get the job done in the end.
The loss exposed some ongoing and ever-frustrating flaws. Here are five major factors that played a role in Carolina’s loss in Week 6.
Factor No. 1
Carolina Panthers didn’t pressure Kirk Cousins enough
The Carolina Panthers’ defensive front has been impressive for the most part this season. But they were simply unable to generate enough consistent pressure to prevent Kirk Cousins from gaining significant yardage.
Granted, they were on the field a lot due to Carolina’s inability to move the chains throughout the contest. However, Cousins had his way whenever he got enough space to do damage, eventually finishing the game with 373 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 112.6.
Minnesota’s offensive line is much improved this season. But it’s hard to look at this with anything other than disappointment.
Carolina Panthers dropped too many passes
Sam Darnold didn’t play well – we’ll get to that later. But the quarterback was not helped by his teammates during the game.
One main factor behind the Carolina Panthers falling to their third-straight defeat was a lack of execution offensively. In particular, a huge number of dropped passes in crucial moments didn’t exactly assist the team or Darnold.
Robby Anderson was one of the main culprits. The wideout hasn’t been much of a factor this season and seemed to be in his own head at times, although he can take heart from the fourth-quarter touchdown that sent the contest into overtime.
There were also miscues from Chuba Hubbard, D.J. Moore, and Tommy Tremble thrown in for good measure, which only added to Darnold’s plight and raised further questions about this team’s capabilities in 2021.
On another day, things could have been different.
And the Panthers deserve credit for showing heart late on to make the game close. before the Vikings wrapped things up with a K.J. Osborn touchdown in overtime.
But as long as mistakes like this keep happening, they’ll only get so far. There is much work to be done and not a lot of time to do it judging by the increasing unrest within the team’s fanbase.
Carolina Panthers had no answer for Dalvin Cook
There’s no denying that Dalvin Cook is one of the best in the business and the Minnesota Vikings are a different team when he’s on the field. The former second-round pick out of Florida State returned to the lineup and didn’t miss a beat to torch the Carolina Panthers, who simply had no answer for his sustained aggression.
Cook set the tone and kept the Vikings moving, especially in the second half. This was especially evident late on as the Panthers’ defense tired, with the player eventually finishing with 140 yards and a touchdown from 29 carries.
How the Panthers could have used their star running back in this one.
With Christian McCaffrey now on the reserve/injured list, Carolina is 0-3 without the All-Pro and the offense just seems to be missing an identity without their face of the franchise.
However, it’s not like the coaching staff haven’t had plenty of experience putting a game plan together in McCaffrey’s absence since Matt Rhule took charge.
Cook was sensational and he was further aided by Minnesota’s imposing run blocking, who had their way with Carolina’s front seven more often than not. If the back can keep this up for the remainder of the season, then the Vikings could be in with a shot at returning to the postseason.
As for the Panthers, this is the second time they’ve come up short against a superb running attack this season.
Carolina Panthers QB Sam Darnold was indecisive
Sam Darnold deserves credit for his 96-yard drive that brought the Carolina Panthers back from the brink. But his overall level of performance just wasn’t up to the required standard once again.
The quarterback got off to the worst possible start with an interception on his very first throw and things didn’t get much better throughout the first half in which Darnold and the Panthers were sluggish from an offensive point of view.
Darnold pulled out that late, long drive out of nowhere. It’s consistency that’s the biggest problem and something that was a real concern when the signal-caller arrived from the New York Jets.
There is a growing sense of unrest regarding Darnold. One doesn’t have to look far on Panthers’ Twitter to see that confidence has decreased greatly in the former first-round pick and the jury is still out as to whether or not he can be a long-term solution under center.
As stated previously, Darnold wasn’t helped by a plethora of drops and the offensive line gave up four more sacks. But these excuses don’t mask the inconsistencies the USC product displayed against the Minnesota Vikings and the two games prior to this one.
Next up for Darnold is a return to MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. A contest that’s going to require a tremendous amount of resolve.
More 3rd quarter turmoil for the Carolina Panthers
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was another third-quarter catastrophe for the Carolina Panthers. One that, once again, could have been avoided.
It looked like the tide might be turning when Frankie Luvu produced a moment of magic to block a punt that saw Kenny Robinson scoop things up and go into the end zone. This put the Panthers up by five and with all the momentum.
This should have been the spark.
Instead, it seemed to inspire the Minnesota Vikings.
Mike Zimmer’s men turned the game on its head by scoring 13 points in 59 seconds after taking advantage of a turnover and showing conviction in the red zone. Something the Panthers couldn’t match.
This was a game decided by fine margins in the end. So when one examines the wreckage of another heartbreaking loss, the third-quarter performance cannot be ignored.
It’s becoming tiresome talking about this week after week. The coaching staff just aren’t doing enough to get Carolina motivated or organized coming out of the locker room and for this to keep happening is simply unacceptable.
People need to be held accountable and substantial adjustments are needed. Otherwise, another season languishing in mediocrity awaits.