4 pivotal matchups that will decide Panthers at Bucs in Week 18

Sam Darnold vs. Late game pressure

Sam Darnold is who he is. A quarterback that crumbles under pressure.

We’ve seen this time and time again throughout the season, it is not newsworthy that Darnold threw a pick to seal the game against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. One might even say it was expected.

The Darnold experiment failed and it’s truly a sad ending to a very promising start.

Darnold may never start a game after Sunday, so this is his last chance to try to salvage something if there is anything left. The best way to do that is to take advantage of any opportunities in a convincing fashion.

The ghosts of Darnold’s past have so far proven to be too much to overcome. There is little to make fans believe that he will suddenly turn into a clutch-time master like Aaron Rogers at the drop of a hat.

But that is just what Darnold has to do if he wants there to be any question as to what the Carolina Panthers will do in the offseason.

Darnold got a pass on the New York Jets due to potential. But every season has been worse than the last and his teams have fallen with him, albeit without doing him many favors in the way of protection.

I like Darnold, I want him to succeed, but it just might not be in the cards and it’s sad how far he has fallen with so much in the way of talent and expectations.

It’s another lost season and we can only hope this isn’t the end of a lost career for Darnold.