What were the major factors that decided the divisional matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in Week 14?
The Carolina Panthers came off their bye week with a renewed sense of purpose on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. It was another emotionally-charged afternoon at Bank of America Stadium – one that came after another eventful bye that saw Christian McCaffrey and Donte Jackson put on the shelf and offensive coordinator Joe Brady fired in favor of Jeff Nixon.
Matt Rhule’s men knew that a victory in the face of NFC South divisional opponents would keep them in the playoff picture. Something the Falcons were also aspiring towards despite their recent struggles.
This was expected to be a clash of fine margins, one that the Panthers didn’t end up on the right side of during a demoralizing loss that ends any slim hopes they had of postseason football this season.
Another game, another catastrophe.
Without further ado, here are five major factors that decided the outcome of Carolina’s Week 14 game against the Falcons.
Major Factor No. 1
Carolina Panthers 3rd down inefficiency
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Third-down efficiency has killed the Carolina Panthers all season. Problems that once again came to the fore in Week 14 to play a role in their eventual demise.
From an offensive standpoint, 4-11 is just not going to cut it. The coordinator change from Joe Brady to Jeff Nixon didn’t bring immediate results and couple this with the Falcons going 7-14 on third down and 2-2 on fourth-down conversions, the writing was on the wall.
Just what the Panthers did on their bye week was uncertain. But their season is spiraling out of control with no end in sight.