The Carolina Panthers came crashing back down to earth with a humbling loss at home to the Dallas Cowboys. This was the first time they've been favored for a game in two years. It was a pressure they couldn't live up to.
Bryce Young's regression was notable versus a relentless Cowboys defense front led by All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. However, the stubborn nature of Ejiro Evero's scheme reared its ugly head once again.
Fans were clamoring for cornerback Jaycee Horn to shadow CeeDee Lamb. Evero opted to keep the same strategy, which is something opposing offenses are easily scheming around these days.
Moving Lamb away from Horn negates Carolina's best coverage presence. The prolific pass-catcher finished with nine receptions for 116 receiving yards and one touchdown. There was nothing the former first-round pick out of South Carolina could do to counteract this threat with shadowing restrictions.
Jaycee Horn's frustrations were evident after Carolina Panthers' Week 15 loss
Evero is coming under fire for his inability to adapt his 3-4 base defense. Horn indicated he'd prefer to go all over the field and nullify the opposition's most prolific receiving threat. At the same time, he wasn't interested in enhancing the narrative and directed the question toward the defensive coordinator instead.
"Y'all gotta go talk to the DC. At the end of the day, our scheme is our scheme. Receiver wanna go in the slot, but we're not matched up in the slot. So you just can't say, 'Jaycee go to the slot' and put somebody on the boundary who's never played boundary. Like, it's more than what y'all see. So I'm done with the narrative that they're not allowing me to follow. We're just playing our scheme and everybody gotta play football. Gotta win their one-on-ones."Jaycee Horn
“At the end of the day, our scheme is our scheme.”
— Josh Graham (@JoshGrahamShow) December 15, 2024
Jaycee Horn took exception when asked if wanted to stick with CeeDee Lamb man to man.
He was listed as questionable (groin), but said he was always going to play today. pic.twitter.com/mZ58DiLrxH
The question is becoming tiresome for Horn. He's remaining professional and doing his job. If others could muster more consistency in coverage, it's a different conversation.
Head coach Dave Canales also threw support behind Evero, outing his confidence in the 3-4 scheme after the contest. That's not an opinion shared by most fans, who are sick of the same problems emerging that are denting the Panthers' chances of progressing effectively.
Dave Canales says he “absolutely” still has faith in the 3-4. #Panthers
— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) December 15, 2024
The Panthers were outcoached in all phases versus the Cowboys. They had no answer and didn't have the right contingency plans in place to adjust. Things got out of hand pretty quickly as Carolina returned to the form displayed earlier in the campaign.
Perhaps this will serve as a wake-up call to Evero. With three games remaining and nothing much to play for, trying new things wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Whether the progressive play-caller will be around during the 2025 campaign is another matter.
Evero will probably get some head coaching interest despite Carolina's poor defensive record this season. He's fallen just short during the two previous hiring cycles, so it'll be interesting to see how things unfold.
There's also a chance Canales opts to start fresh on the defensive side of the football and makes Evero surplus to requirements. It could go either way for the coordinator right now. A strong end to the season is paramount to avoid any unnecessary speculation about his future.