The lights were clearly too bright for the Carolina Panthers against the New Orleans Saints.
They had the opportunity to take a massive step toward their first division title since 2015. But despite wins over the NFC-topping Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams, another dismal loss to the Saints summed up the team's inconsistencies.
When it really mattered, the Panthers’ defense could not get off the field. This has become synonymous with Ejiro Evero’s reign as defensive coordinator.
While the coach deserves immense credit for the improvement after a historically bad 2024 season, there are still fundamental issues in his scheme that played a significant role in the Panthers' backbreaking defeat.
Ejiro Evero's lack of defensive adjustments are costing the Carolina Panthers
Evero’s scheme is set around a bend-don’t-break mentality, based on a heavy soft-zone scheme that rarely plays any man coverage. This rests heavily on securing turnovers, especially in the red zone. When you look at the Packers and Rams games — two huge wins — they did precisely that to stun the NFL world.
Against the Saints, the Panthers' failure to secure any turnovers highlighted the deficiencies in the Evero scheme, especially in the fourth quarter. Constantly playing off coverage, mainly in third and short situations, allows easy completions for the opposition. The Saints converted on 6 of 11 third downs, and many of those came on 3rd-and-10 or more yards.
The coordinator is clearly hampered by just awful play at the linebacker position. Both Trevin Wallace and Christian Rozeboom have zero command of the middle of the field, and the Saints' pass catchers regularly found themselves in acres of space there. But Evero's lack of adjustments remains an ongoing frustration.
From a defensive standpoint, the end of the game was a disaster for Carolina. Leading 17-10 with under seven minutes to go, in his patented soft zone, the Saints and Tyler Shough walked up the field to score the 10 points they needed to win the game. There was no answer, and Kellen Moore had Evero's number.
The last drive was infuriating to watch. All Panthers fans knew once Sam Martin punted the ball back to New Orleans, even with under a minute and pinned deep in their own territory, what their fate would be.
The defense held Shough’s hand and led him down the field. They even gifted them a free 15 yards courtesy of Latham Ransom and one of the more brain-dead plays I’ve seen from a Panthers player in recent memory.
For the Panthers under Evero, this is nothing new. The Panthers simply do not have a defensive coordinator whose scheme helps the players at his disposal.
With Evero’s contract up at the end of the 2025 season, it’s hard to see a scenario where the coach is retained. While he is clearly a good coordinator, as shown by his time with the Denver Broncos, he is not a fit for Carolina.
And head coach Dave Canales has a massive decision to make.