What were the major factors behind the Carolina Panthers’ disastrous loss at the New York Giants in Week 7?
This was as bad as it gets.
And given how the Carolina Panthers have performed of late, that’s saying something.
What appeared to be a winnable game at the New York Giants – who were 1-5 heading into the contest – turned out to be anything but. This was one of the most inept, embarrassing performances in franchise history and there are now serious questions about what direction the Panthers are heading under the current regime.
The defense did their part. But they cannot do it all alone.
Same and new problems reared their ugly head once again. Whether the coaching staff has the right mettle to turn things around so drastically is a major doubt at this juncture.
With this in mind, here are four major factors that caused Carolina’s demise at MetLife Stadium.
Major Factor No. 1
Carolina Panthers had some punting issues
This will probably get overlooked with everything else going on. But the performance of Ryan Winslow left a lot to be desired.
The defense was having a hard time with almost no rest without the punter shanking multiple kicks and giving the Giants strong field position throughout.
With Joseph Charlton on the reserve/injured list, the Panthers have to find a better solution. It’s just that simple.
Lack of adjustments from the coaching staff
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Things didn’t start off well for the Carolina Panthers and only got worse. The players – especially on offense – need to do a better job of executing, but the in-game adjustments are almost non-existent and that’s squarely on the coaching staff.
Matt Rhule doesn’t call plays on either side of the football. So he has to be more aware of what’s going on right in front of him.
This narrative of Rhule being a promising coach is rapidly fading. The fact he has the final say on all these questionable personnel decisions makes it even worse.
The Panthers bet big that Rhule was the man to lead them back into contention. David Tepper prised him from the New York Giants’ grasp with a whopping seven-year, $60 million deal and although job security isn’t really in question right now for that exact reason, if things continue in a similar fashion for the remainder of the campaign, Carolina’s billionaire owner will have a huge decision to make.
It’s the same thing every week. But this performance had a completely different feel to it.
The biggest response is needed by Rhule, the staff, and their players. They just might not have it in them, in all honesty.
Carolina Panthers QB Sam Darnold was woeful
Sam Darnold‘s time under center for the Carolina Panthers is hanging by a thread. The quarterback turned in another inept display upon his return to MetLife Stadium, which eventually led to Matt Rhule benching the former first-round pick early in the fourth quarter.
Rhule came out after the game and said Darnold is the starter moving forward. Almost at the same time, Joe Person of The Athletic reported that the Panthers are going to be involved in trade talks for Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, citing league and team sources.
So which one is it?
Nobody takes Rhule’s word as gospel. Given David Tepper also made an appearance in the locker room following this embarrassing defeat, it would be a surprise if Carolina didn’t make a bold bid to acquire a player who still has multiple sexual misconduct charges to overcome.
It reeks of desperation.
And the move wouldn’t go down well with large sections of the team’s fanbase.
Darnold’s only got himself to blame. There’s just something missing from a talent standpoint and he lacks the cutting edge to pick a team up by himself and make things happen.
What comes next is unclear. But the next few days are sure to be extremely interesting.
Carolina Panthers are clueless without Christian McCaffrey
Matt Rhule talked a big game this week about establishing a new identity for the Carolina Panthers. The head coach outlined his desire to run the football more and set the tone that way rather than rely on the struggling Sam Darnold – but it didn’t appear as if Joe Brady got the memo.
This statement obviously didn’t go unnoticed by the New York Giants, who used it as bulletin board material and came out with a fierce desire to thwart this area of the field. Chuba Hubbard found life difficult generating meaningful yards outside of one or two nice runs, and it was abandoned entirely once the contest started slipping away.
Yet more empty calories from Rhule.
How much longer can we say it’s all part of the learning curve?
The simple fact of the matter is this offense is absolutely clueless without Christian McCaffrey on the field. Even though the All-Pro has now missed 17 of the last 23 games.
This is simply unacceptable.
The Panthers have made their bed. They don’t have much in the way of draft capital to make big-time improvements before the deadline, so another campaign of mediocrity or worse awaits if things don’t start trending on an upward curve.