What were some critical observations to emerge as the Carolina Panthers suffered a dent in their playoff hopes against the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Protect the Bank -those were the words of interim head coach Steve Wilks following a first road win of the season a week ago. Unfortunately, the Carolina Panthers failed to build on a three-game home winning streak, losing 24-16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers during an immensely disappointing afternoon.
This was being billed by many as a potential trap game for the Panthers. The Steelers squad have little to play for other than pride and were missing quarterback Kenny Pickett, so this should have been a game Carolina won comfortably.
Instead, what we saw was the Panthers’ offensive and defensive fronts completely dominated in what could be a damaging loss when the time for important decisions come at the end of the campaign.
All is not lost, however. While confined to another losing season, the Panthers must now win their remaining three games in pursuit of an unlikely NFC South divisional crown after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew a 17-point lead against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Unlikely, but not impossible.
Without further ado, let’s break down four critical observations to emerge from a miserable Sunday for the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
Carolina Panthers lost in the trenches
Going up against a Mike Tomlin-coached team this was always going to be a battle in the trenches. Unfortunately for the Carolina Panthers, they were massacred on both sides of the ball.
The tone was set on the opening drive as Carolina failed to establish their running game before the Pittsburgh Steelers – mainly Najee Harris – bullied the Panthers’ defense on his way to the end zone.
What followed for the remainder of the game was Carolina getting a lesson in trench warfare from their AFC North opponents. They ended the day with just 21 rushing yards – the fourth-lowest total in team history and the lowest in 10 years.
It wasn’t just on running-downs where Carolina struggled. The offensive line has its worst outing arguably since Week 1 against a menacing Steelers front, giving up four sacks with Alex Highsmith having a big day.
The Wilmington, North Carolina native who was a Charlotte 49er in college and grew up a Panthers’ fan regularly gave rookie tackle Ikem Ekwonu trouble. While Sam Darnold was solid, the lack of production elsewhere hampered the team’s ability to build any offensive consistency.
Steve Wilks damaged his head coaching chances
This was a backbreaking loss in two ways. Not only did it damage the Carolina Panthers’ hopes of heading into the postseason, but it also may have hurt Steve Wilks’ hopes of having the interim tag removed once the season ends.
After a huge road win last Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, many fans were ready to crown Wilks as the new permanent head coach. However, it was important to exercise caution and this week has shown that the former Arizona Cardinals lead man has some ways to go before he secures the top job.
This was always going to be a dogfight going up against Mike Tomlin, arguably one of the best coaches the league has ever seen. What we saw transpire at Bank Of America Stadium was Wilks getting outcoached for arguably the first time since replacing Matt Rhule and the Panthers had no response.
When Rhule was fired, team owner David Tepper said that Wilks had to do an “incredible job” to be considered for the permanent position. One could argue up until this week, he had done just that.
However, the defeat on Sunday on what was arguably Carolina’s biggest home game in recent memory will be fresh in Tepper’s mind. Unless the Panthers’ can respond in their home finale against the Detroit Lions, Wilks may not be given the permanent role.
Carolina Panthers’ run game was non-existent
One of the hallmarks of losses under Steve Wilks is when the Carolina Panthers cannot get the running game going, they inevitably fall to defeat. This proved to be the case once again in Week 15.
While losses in Baltimore and Cincinnati yielded just 36 and 64 yards, the pitiful 21 yards they amassed on Sunday was the fourth-lowest number in franchise history and the team’s lowest total in a decade. D’Onta Foreman especially struggled as he carried the ball 10 times for just nine rushing yards, which was bad news for the Panthers and fantasy football owners across the country.
Not all can be blamed on the Panthers’ running back room as the offensive line – which has performed so admirably over the season – had arguably its worst game of the campaign so far. They were completely dominated by the Steelers’ extremely talented defensive front, with the likes of Alex Highsmith and veteran Cameron Heyward having their way from start to finish.
Unfortunately for Carolina, with the lack of talent they currently have in the quarterback too, they are always going to be heavily reliant on their running game. When it doesn’t fire, that emphasis switches back on to Sam Darnold – the player just doesn’t have the talent to carry this offense to wins.
Carolina Panthers did not Protect the Bank
All week the message emanating from the Carolina Panthers’ social media team was “Protect the Bank”. This stemmed from Steve Wilks’ impassioned speech following their outstanding win at the Seattle Seahawks.
This led to the most excitement for a Panthers’ game easily since Cam Newton’s return in 2021 and arguably you’d have to look further back.
What we saw play out on Sunday was strangely reminiscent of what transpired against Ron Rivera and the Washington Football Team. Last season it was Taylor Heinicke who diced up the Panthers’ defense, with Mitchell Trubisky and Najee Harris doing the damage this time around.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, it seemed that Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans largely outnumbered their home counterparts which is no surprise when you have a legacy franchise come to town. The disappointment mainly came down to the team’s lackluster performance when it mattered.
The defense struggled mightily throughout, forcing zero turnovers. When C.J. Henderson left early with an injury, we saw how thin the secondary is as Diontae Johnson had himself a day matched up against Keith Taylor Jr., hauling in 10 receptions for 98 receiving yards.
George Pickens, on the other hand, had just two catches matched up against Jaycee Horn and one of those receptions came when lined up versus Taylor.
Carolina has a week to put things right before their home finale against Dan Campbell and his exciting Detroit Lions team who has played themselves back into the NFC Wildcard race. So this is a stern test of everyone’s character.