4 critical observations from disastrous Carolina Panthers loss in Week 4

What were some critical observations from another disastrous defeat for the Carolina Panthers against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4?

What was meant to be a night of celebration for the Carolina Panthers as they honored late great linebacker Sam Mills turned into a night of disaster as the stagnant offense failed once again, piling the pressure on head coaches and players alike during their 26-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

It all started so well for the Panthers at Bank Of America Stadium. Following on from the team’s Week 3 triumph, emerging star Frankie Luvu forced another turnover by intercepting Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and returning it to the house. Unfortunately, the rest of the game followed a similar pattern from the Matt Rhule era to date.

As the game wore on we saw the offense continually fail to sustain drives, causing the defense to be on the field prominently once again. Just a glance at the time of possession which the visitors won 38:35 to 21:25 shows the strain being put on this defensive unit.

As the game continued, the defense started to visibly tire, allowing the Cardinals and Murray to move the ball more frequently and eventually put more points on the board.

In terms of the offense, it was arguably the worst performance of the season and rivaled some of the shocking play we saw under Joe Brady and Sam Darnold a season ago. Going up against statistically one of the worst defenses so far in 2022, this seemed the perfect opportunity for Ben McAdoo to find its feet. Instead, we saw just 220 yards of total offense and audible boos from the home fans.

With that being said, let’s get into four critical observations from an embarrassing Week 4 loss.