4 critical observations from Panthers’ gut-wrenching loss at Falcons

What were the critical observations from another gut-wrenching loss for the Carolina Panthers at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8?

Just when this team pulls you back in, they find a way to rip your heart out. Heartbreakingly, the Carolina Panthers fell 37-34 on the road to the Atlanta Falcons, missing the chance to move atop the NFC South, and now find themselves at 2-6 with the No. 3 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

This was a back-and-forth game that seemed to be heading toward a close finish. Trailing 14-10 at halftime, the Panthers leaned heavily on D’Onta Foreman in the second half, and P.J. Walker turned up in a big way following a disappointing start to put Carolina in the ascendancy.

However, after a Panthers defensive stand, the Falcons were held to a field goal giving them a 34-28 lead with Carolina needing to drive 75 yards in 37 seconds with one timeout remaining. What we saw from Walker was one of the best throws you’ll see this season for a 62-yard touchdown to D.J. Moore.

Unfortunately, Eddy Pineiro missed the extra point, which was pushed back to 48 yards following a Moore penalty for removing his helmet which sent the game to overtime. After a C.J. Henderson interception put the Panthers in field goal range, the kicker dragged his attempt and the rest is history.

This was a body blow to Carolina’s aspirations in 2022. With this in mind, here are four critical observations to take from their gut-wrenching Week 8 loss.

P.J. Walker earned himself another week as Carolina Panthers QB1

Heading into Week 8, the storyline across the league was the play of P.J. Walker in the Carolina Panthers’ dominant win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But fans were asking themselves whether or not the quarterback could translate that into a second week against a depleted Atlanta Falcons secondary.

The first half for Walker was not good. He completed under 50 percent of his passes for just 67 yards a critical pick-six, which came with a dismal 26.2 passer rating. Some fans were calling for Baker Mayfield to be inserted into the game, but Steve Wilks resisted the temptation and stuck with the one-time XFL MVP candidate.

We saw a vast improvement from Walker in the second half as the Panthers scored 24 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter. The signal-caller ended the game 19-for-36 for 317 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 80.4.

Walker then preceded to hit one of the best throws in some time from an NFL quarterback, hitting a 62-yard bomb to D.J. Moore late to tie the game. The throw even garnered attention from Patrick Mahomes who took to Twitter to show love.

If Walker’s first-half performance had carried over to the second half, Wilks may have had the decision to make on who to start against the Cincinnati Bengals. But the Temple product did enough to earn himself at least another week.

Carolina Panthers’ kicking woes returned

The Carolina Panthers seem to always be cursed by kicking issues at the worst time.

Who can forget back in 2003 when legend John Kasay kicked off out of bounds in the Super Bowl, giving Tom Brady and the New England Patriots a short field allowing them to win the game late?

We saw that curse strike again Sunday after P.J. Walker threw a laser to D.J. Moore to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining. But Eddy Pineiro was forced into a 48-yard extra point after a controversial flag on the wide receiver.

Fans were right to be confident in Pineiro as before this game he had missed just a single field goal. Unfortunately, the former Florida star hooked his kicked left sending the game into overtime.

Pineiro had another chance with a chip shot from 33 yards to win the game. This was a shocking attempt.

As soon as the effort left Pineiro’s boot, it was flying left as the Panthers’ kicker missed again.

Post-game, interim head coach Steve Wilks said very little when asked if the Panthers would look to bring in any more kickers. Pineiro himself said he had “no excuses” and that he just simply had to make the kick.

Moving forward it would be harsh for Carolina to move on from Pineiro, who up until yesterday had been practically automatic. However, if we see another similar performance in Week 9, Carolina might be forced into drastic action.

Carolina Panthers must find a way to win close games

An issue that has blighted this team in recent memory has been the inability to win close games. For the third time, this season, the Carolina Panthers were downed by a score or less.

Defeats to the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and now Atlanta Falcons have come by a combined eight points. Turning these three losses into wins leaves the Panthers at 5-3 instead of 2-6 and very much clear in the NFC South.

Especially under Matt Rhule, this team was plagued by the same issue. Much was made about quarterback Teddy Bridgewater being unable to lead a game-winning drive in 2020 despite having multiple opportunities to do so – a problem that’s only evolved since his trade to the Denver Broncos.

It’s hard to argue that the Panthers are close to being a contending team, at least in the NFC South. But they are currently not able to find a way to get themselves over the hump.

That is holding them back. It’s tough to get on players too much for this because under Rhule, it was a culture of losing and it takes time to get past this.

Once the Panthers start to find a way to win games and change the atmosphere around the team, we will start to see some of these tight losses turning into victories.

Officiating let the Carolina Panthers down again

It seems every team this season has at some point been the victim of poor officiating. But the Carolina Panthers could now seriously argue that two of its losses in 2022 are in some part due to the NFL’s referees.

In Week 1 we saw two suspect calls on the Cleveland Browns’ final drive that caused great debate. debate. The harsh roughing the passer call on Brian Burns was followed by the fake spike on Jacoby Brissett which was originally flagged before the officials decided to negate the penalty.

Yesterday we witnessed decisions go against the Panthers. On the play that led to the Atlanta Falcons taking the lead late through Damiere Byrd, there were two missed calls by the officials.

A blatant false start by Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews followed up by a hold by right tackle Kaleb McGary went unpunished.

Later in the game, another call went against the Panthers. When D.J. Moore caught a game-tying 62-yard pass from P.J. Walker, the wideout removed his helmet in celebration, which incurred a 15-yard penalty pushing Eddy Pineiro’s kick back and everyone knows what happened next.

It’s since been said Moore shouldn’t have been flagged. Former NFL referee and current NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay stated as much because the Maryland product was off the field of play when he took his helmet off.

Should Moore have shown some restraint? Possibly.

But I defy anyone to keep their emotions in check after making such a play. Instead of getting at Moore for celebrating an incredible play, it’s about time we start holding officials accountable for making bad calls.