The Carolina Panthers experienced a renaissance of sorts over the last few weeks, playing well above their weight against some of the best teams in the NFL. This flight amongst the clouds of competitiveness could only last so long.
Many saw Week 15 as an opportunity for a morale-boosting win. A chance to prove that Dave Canales could coach with the best of them and that the Panthers could live up to their building hype.
That did not happen.
It seemed as if the Panthers were largely a step behind the Dallas Cowboys both in performance and game planning. This was evident right from the outset.
The Panthers did not cover wide receiver CeeDee Lamb appropriately for much of the first half. It didn't take long for things to unravel once the Cowboys generated early momentum.
Lamb hauled in catches of 20 and 28 yards to convert on consecutive third downs before hauling in a 14-yard touchdown. The latter two of these catches came against Jordan Fuller — the safety is not the guy you ever want covering a player of his caliber.
Ejiro Evero has a defensive scheme and wants to stick to that. But when the Panthers have a cornerback like Jaycee Horn and they don't put him against the one true threat Dallas possessed, what is the point of having them?
Mike Jackson Sr. is a capable player, but the point still stands. Things were just as bad on offense, which is partially due to game-planning but also due to a sharp regression of quarterback Bryce Young in this contest.
Carolina Panthers must respond positively to demoraliizing setback
Much of the improvement over the last few weeks centered on Young's encouraging presence in and out of the pocket. His ability to extend plays, read the field, and simply feel comfortable in the game was lightyears ahead of anything we had seen out of the second-year player to date. But that all seemed to fall apart.
Young's body language alone looked more like the frustrated and overmatched rookie of last year.
Walking the sideline without much of a presence for his teammates to hold onto. Making simple mistakes that lead to turnovers. The most glaring of these was the interception on a pass to a closely covered Adam Thielen when JaTavion Sanders was wide open just behind him.
The pass protection provided by the offensive line was abysmal, letting up a staggering six sacks in this contest. To regress that much is startling and not the least bit concerning. Especially looking at just how erratic some of Young's movements and decision-making became.
While it is understandable to try and protect a young quarterback who is struggling, starting almost every drive until the game gets out of hand with a running play becomes somewhat predictable. Canales once again came up short versus one of the league's most experienced coaches.
The Panthers have to be better than this. They have to be more prepared than this.
This game needs to be a wake-up call. It once again exposed the old shortcomings of this team. Hopefully, it can be a learning experience from top to bottom. Canales' squad was simply outmatched.
There is still hope for the future, but this showed just how distant that future is.