What’s wrong with the Panthers’ offense? It’s not just Christian McCaffrey’s injuries
Plenty of focus has gone on the late-game woes of the the Carolina Panthers offense, and understandably so.
The Panthers are 0-7 with an opportunity to drive and either win the game or tie it with less than four minutes remaining. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is 5-17 in his career in similar opportunities, per STATS.
“We’ve had opportunity to score touchdowns and kick field goals, and our goal in every single week is to win the football game. And so, if we’re not winning the football game, then we have to evaluate what we’re doing,” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said this week. “I know they haven’t been the results that we want, but it’s something that we want to be a part of it. We got to take make the most of it when we get those opportunities.”
There are many reasons the Panthers get stuck in these close games. The team is not being blown out, so that’s a positive. But there have also been plenty of opportunities to win. The next chance comes Saturday at Green Bay (8:15 p.m., NFL Network).
Coming up short has partly been due to Carolina’s young defense and its issues at times to limit opposing offenses. That’s far from all it is, though. Special teams have been problematic, both in terms of Joey Slye’s missed kicks, penalties and such miscues as the punt-return touchdown given up early in the loss to the Broncos.
On the season as a whole, the Panthers’ special teams, led by coach Chase Blackburn — one of the few holdovers from Ron Rivera’s staff — have been fine but not spectacular. Rookie punter Joe Charlton has had some good moments but averages just 39.6 net yards per punt (19th in the league).
Of course, it equally falls on the offense guided by Brady, under head coach Matt Rhule, to perform more consistently throughout the game. While it’s ideal to have the ball in your hands at the end of the game, seven times is a bit too many for a 4-9 football team.
Fans are probably tired of hearing about it, but this is supposed to be a year of development. The team wasn’t expected to win many games. What would be a sign of progress is learning from mistakes and improving. And that’s where there is some legitimate concern.
Injuries have hurt the offense. Being without star tailback Christian McCaffrey for at least 11 games has major consequences. The offensive line has dealt with its fair share of injury woes, especially to veteran left tackle Russell Okung.
In back-to-back games, however, communication issues have been at fault in one of the offense’s final drives. The play call got in to Bridgewater too late during the second-to-last drive against Minnesota on third down, but he then missed the throw to a wide open DJ Moore on the play, resulting in a short field goal. A 54-yard missed field goal by Slye on the next drive wasn’t the only place to point fingers. Against the Broncos, running a play prior to the two-minute warning was also partly a result of everyone not being on the same page.
Finishing drives remains an issue despite having all three top wide receivers — Moore, Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel — play in almost every game this season. Only 11 drives have resulted in three-and-outs (lowest in the league) and a large part of that is the production those three have put in.
Moore and Anderson are set for 1,000-yard seasons, which will be the first time the Panthers have had two wide receivers accomplish the feat in the same season since 1999 (Muhsin Muhammad and Patrick Jeffers).
Despite all that, the offense consistently comes up short in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on 55.6% of red-zone drives (25th in the NFL). Much attention goes to that big 0-7 number and what is visible on the field, which is Bridgewater coming up short. And he has at times. No lack of an offseason or injured players excuse all of that. But it’s certainly not all on him.
You don’t need lists of stats and numbers to understand the roller-coaster season this offense has had. Watching it is enough. There’s been exciting moments and head-scratching play-calling and decision-making. Most of the Panthers’ offensive stats fall near the upper middle of the league.
Over the final three games coming up against three good division-leading teams — Green Bay, Washington and New Orleans — getting out of the slump of looking great at times and not so great at others should be the priority. It would be simpler if there was one reason to blame, something that’s more correctable like what has taken place on the defensive side of the ball.
These are three big weeks for Bridgewater. After a big opportunity for the coaching staff last week didn’t come together, improvement in communication and establishing the offensive identity should be the priority to finish out the season.
Facts for Saturday’s Panthers-Packers game:
▪ The Panthers are 2-5 on Saturdays all-time. The last games was a loss to the Atlanta Falcons in 2016.
▪ Carolina is 6-10 against Green Bay and 2-5 at Lambeau Field all-time, including just coming up short on a McCaffrey run last year.
▪ With a loss, the Panthers would have consecutive double-digit loss seasons for the second time in franchise history (2010-2011).
▪ The Panthers are 1-11 in their last 12 December games.
This story was originally published December 19, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "What’s wrong with the Panthers’ offense? It’s not just Christian McCaffrey’s injuries."
