What were the primary factors behind another demoralizing Carolina Panthers’ loss in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns?
The Carolina Panthers dropped to 0-1 on the season after losing Baker Mayfield’s revenge matchup against the Cleveland Browns. The quarterback led a furious fourth-quarter comeback that saw the home team take a two-point lead late on, but the defense couldn’t get it done late and they were undone by a mammoth field goal from rookie Cade York.
Penalties and two nice plays from Jacoby Brissett put the Browns in position to kick a prayer of a field goal that started wide right and somehow twisted inside the right upright for the game-winning moment.
It was a sickening way for a great comeback attempt to end. Something that only added to the level of frustration within Bank of America Stadium.
Carolina had a chance to put the Browns away late and failed. And the team could have gone for the throat rather than settle for three points in the red zone.
Mayfield was far from perfect versus his former team. But the signal-caller did everything he could to put the Panthers in a position to come back from the brink.
Instead, late calls and a phenomenal kick changed the result and put the Panthers in some familiar, frustrating territory.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the four primary factors that contributed significantly to Carolina’s eventual demise in Week 1.
Carolina Panthers got two terrible officiating calls late
The officials inserted themselves into this game late and made two game-changing decisions down the stretch. A controversial roughing the passer call on Brian Burns gave the Cleveland Browns late life in a hit that was void of any ill intent and the referees should have let go.
Add in a missed intentional grounding call and Baker Mayfield should have had his revenge against the Browns. The officials made late decisions in key moments that bailed out the Browns from collapsing and gave them the chance to hit a deep field goal that won the contest.
Rarely is blaming the officials for any defeat the right move. Carolina fans have a viable complaint in this game and should feel robbed despite being second-best for most of it.
Even if the officials make the right decision on one of these calls, it changes the outcome of the game and gives the Panthers a comeback triumph. This could have built some momentum heading on the road to the New York Giants in Week 2.
However, if we are being completely honest, it isn’t just the officials that cost the Panthers this game. They certainly had the final blow, but everything leading up to some critical moments in the closing stages put Carolina in a difficult spot, to begin with.
The Browns would have felt aggrieved had they not come away with bragging rights. Especially considering how much their defense dominated for three quarters.
Baker Mayfield didn’t start well enough
If we are being honest with ourselves, it is impossible not to point out that Baker Mayfield was a large factor in why the Carolina Panthers lost this game. Even if he did turn it around late.
Cam Newton or Sam Darnold wouldn’t have been capable of orchestrating the comeback Mayfield did in this game and he deserves huge credit for that. However, this game is about all four quarters and the quarterback struggled going up against his old teammates.
Whether it was the emotion of facing his previous employers or adjusting to his surroundings, Mayfield played poorly early. The mistakes he made put the Carolina defense under immense pressure and left the Panthers with a huge deficit to claw out of.
If the Mayfield that showed up in the fourth quarter was evident from the start, Carolina wins this game and the Oklahoma product gets some semblance of redemption for the way he got treated this offseason. But it was not to be.
While there is still plenty of reason to believe Mayfield is going to fuel this Carolina team in the right direction, it has to be noted that his Week 1 performance was a story defined both by his clutch fourth quarter and the terrible first three quarters that demanded such a comeback.
Mayfield needs to be the player he was later on from the first snap Sunday at the New York Giants. That guy is going to win a lot of games.
Carolina Panthers looked underprepared
The longer Matt Rhule is head coach, the more convinced fans become he isn’t the answer for the Carolina Panthers.
Rhule has had two solid rosters and failed to put the Panthers anywhere close to wildcard contention over his opening couple of seasons in the job. Within their division, Carolina watched an inferior Atlanta Falcons roster contend for the playoffs late into the 2021 season without the playmakers or defensive pieces at their disposal.
Simply unacceptable.
From his clock management to the early offensive play calling, Rhule’s coaching staff did little to quieten doubts in Week 1. When this offense caught fire it was Baker Mayfield making plays and helping create a sense of urgency in what had been a sleepy offense before the fourth quarter.
This type of mentality continued when the Panthers had a third and long on an impressive late drive. Instead of putting the ball in the hands of your quarterback and giving him a chance to get a first down that likely would have won the game, Rhule and Ben McAdoo played safe.
Carolina handed the ball off for minimal gains before kicking the field goal to take a temporary lead. Playing not to lose is the quickest way to make mistakes and wipe away leads, which proved to be the case once again.
Rhule needed to believe in the quarterback that got them back in this game and give Mayfield the chance to end it on Carolina’s final offensive play. Another example of the former Baylor man failing to get out of his own way.
Carolina Panthers underused their dynamic weapons
Baker Mayfield and the coaching staff both deserve some blame for a game plan that resulted in only 10 carries for Christian McCaffrey and three catches for D.J. Moore. Your best two playmakers have to be more heavily involved or you’re going to be in trouble quickly as the Carolina Panthers were against a motivated Cleveland Browns defense.
Part of the reason McCaffrey’s carries were lessened was due to how quickly the Carolina offense fell behind. There is also a need to keep the star running back healthy after recent injury problems.
McCaffrey has been unable to stay on the field consistently for two years. Both times he came back, Matt Rhule made the mistake of instantly giving him a huge workload that helped result in further complications.
This time, however, Rhule overcorrected the problem by not allowing McCaffrey to put his stamp on this game. The offense needed to allow the All-Pro to do what he does best, putting the back outside and allowing him to create space on the perimeter and outrun the defense.
Simple runs up the middle are part of his game. But they only work if the offensive line is consistently opening up lanes.
Moore and Mayfield are still building chemistry and both deserve a small amount of blame for the wide receiver’s lack of impact. The Maryland product is an elite receiver capable of carrying an offense, but the Panthers must enhance their creativeness in pursuit of putting him in better positions moving forward.