Lea: Three plays decided the game, leading to second Panthers loss
Posted October 10, 2021 4:43 p.m. EDT
Updated October 11, 2021 10:59 a.m. EDT
No Christian McCaffrey, no Shaq Thompson, no Cam Erving for the Carolina Panthers today. That's your offensive swiss army knife, your leader on defense and your left tackle all not playing. Not good. But the name of the game is 'next man up' in the NFL. Chuba Hubbard started in place of McCaffrey, while Hassan Reddick slid into Thompson's role as the strong-side linebacker. Frankie Luvu took Reddick's place on the EDGE. Right tackle Taylor Moton slid over to left tackle, while rookie Brady Christensen got his first start of the season, taking over for Moton at right tackle.
But when the patched up offensive line doesn't block, Darnold turns into New York Jets Sam Danrold and throws three interceptions, leading to a 21-18 loss by the Panthers. Here's what I saw:
- Sam Darnold - Darnold received no help from his offensive line, but he also didn't help himself at all in this game, looking like the quarterback the New York Jets quickly moved from after only three years. He threw three interceptions which simply isn't good enough. However, he had a chance to rectify his first two picks when the Panthers got the ball after the Eagles scored their final touchdown at 2:38 left in the game. Teddy Bridgewater was shipped off to Denver for not being able to lead game-winning drives for the Panthers last season. This was Darnold's first chance in a winnable game to go down and do the same, but that ended with his third interception of the game. It's clear that Darnold, like most quarterbacks, performs best when he's protected and when he has weapons to throw it to. But unlike the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, Darnold simply can't overcome those odds and go win a game. He can be the reason the Panthers lose, but he won't be the reason why the Panthers win if the results of the first five games of the season holds up.
- Offensive line continues to be the Panthers' Achilles heel - The interior of the Panthers offensive line still needs a lot of work. This Eagles defense in one of the worst in the NFL and yet the offense was sputtering against them, making the Eagles look much better than what they've shown through the first four weeks of the season. They allowed three sacks and eight quarterback hits on Darnold in the game, leading Sam to revert back to his old ways. Brady Christensen did fine in his debut, but definitely had rookie moments in the game, but it may be time for Matt Rhule to insert rookie offensive lineman Deonte Brown who hasn't played yet this season. John Miller and Dennis Daley are allowing Darnold to be pressured which clearly is impacting his confidence throwing the ball.
- Panthers Defense - The Panthers were missing some leadership on defense with Thompson out, but Reddick, Luvu and Julian Stanford filled in the void nicely. In the third quarter, Donte Jackson really showed why the Panthers need to pay him this offseason to get him to stay, forcing a fumble and catching an interception on back-to-back Eagles offensive plays. Reddick came up with two sacks on back-to-back plays to force an Eagles three & out after Darnold threw his second interception, coming to the rescue once again. The Eagles scored twice on a short field, which isn't the defense's fault: their first field goal and their final touchdown. For all the good this Panthers defense did, they gave up one 53 yard pass play in the 3rd quarter which led to the Eagles first touchdown of the game. An interception, a 53-yard pass play and a blocked punt led to 18 of the Eagles 21 points, which simply isn't good enough for the Carolina Panthers. Those three plays ultimately decided the game.
- Chuba Hubbard - Hubbard still leaves a little to be desired with missing some holes and a dropped pass, but he filled in nicely for Christian McCaffrey today. In short he did his job and what he was drafted to do. Hubbard finished with 101 yards rushing on 24 attempts and 33 receiving yards on five catches. You can't ask a rookie to do any better than that when replacing one of the best receiving runningbacks in NFL history. If McCaffrey needs to miss any more games, Hubbard is showing he can help carry the load, however, he may not be able to change a game like CMC can.
