Analysis: Sam Darnold returning as a Panthers QB next season is better than it sounds
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Panthers at Buccaneers
Expanded coverage of Carolina’s Week 18 game.
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Sam Darnold spent the first 28 minutes of his Sunday outdueling Tom Brady.
In a meaningless 18th week of the NFL season, the Panthers brought their six-game losing streak to Tampa Bay. Darnold started behind a 13th different offensive line combination and fared well, making his case to challenge for a starting quarterback spot in Carolina or elsewhere next season.
He’ll be blamed for the Panthers’ offensive issues, scapegoated like quarterbacks before him. But no QB (not Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers) could flourish under Carolina’s systemic offensive problems.
Darnold started fast — overcoming some questionable decisions from Panthers coach Matt Rhule — and kept the Panthers within striking distance until late in the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay pulled away to win 41-17 as Brady and receiver Mike Evans (seven catches, 89 yards, two touchdowns) abused a beat-up Panthers’ secondary.
Without an offensive identity and protected by a rotating line, Darnold had his best passing game since returning from his Week 9 shoulder injury. He threw for 219 yards, two touchdowns and completed nearly 70% of his passes.
The problems in Carolina supersede quarterback.
“I’d like us to have a true identity of being able to run the football, (use) play-action and protect the quarterback,” Rhule said after the game. “We have some skill players that are excellent players. We know what the strategy is. We want to be able to control the line of scrimmage.”
Carolina scored an opening-drive touchdown for the first time since Week 14. The 14-play series covered 75 yards, capped by a well-designed 2-yard swing pass from Darnold to running back Chuba Hubbard.
Darnold completed five passes for 44 yards to three different receivers on the draft. He faced plenty of pressure from the Buccaneers’ stout defensive line. Interim play-caller Jeff Nixon offset the pass rush with quick Darnold pocket throws.
The Panthers’ defense complemented their offense (for 28 minutes) by attacking Brady and stuffing Tampa Bay’s running game. The Buccaneers ran 16 plays, gained 48 yards and scored a field goal on their first three possessions.
In the game’s first 28 minutes, Brady completed 5-of-10 passes for 34 yards and a 58 passer rating, compared to Darnold’s 13 of 18, 105 yards and a touchdown. All was well until Rhule made two critical errors that cost Carolina points, momentum and ultimately the game.
Up 7-3 with five minutes left in the half, the Panthers faced a fourth-and-inches from the Buccaneers’ 2. Darold effectively moved Carolina into scoring position, completing long passes of 18 and 9 yards, both to running back Ameer Abdullah. Rookie right guard Deonte Brown sparked Abdullah’s 18-yard reception. He blocked well on a perimeter screen in his first action since early December.
Carolina was poised to increase its lead by two scores. The Panthers needed a few inches for a first down or a long yard for six points. All week Rhule said he’d have Cam Newton ready for certain situations. This had to be it.
Nope.
Rather than inserting Newton at quarterback, Rhule kept Darnold under center and the Panthers ran a quarterback sneak. Darnold didn’t pick it up, Rhule challenged the call and lost, costing Carolina its third timeout of the half.
“That was just a quarterback sneak. Had it been fourth-and-1 where it was going to be a quarterback power, (that’s) Cam’s specialty. But really fourth-and-inches, you figure your line is going to knock them back. Jeff (Nixon) made the call to go with a quarterback sneak, and I thought it was the right call.”
Had Carolina used Newton — the quarterback with the most rushing touchdowns in NFL history — the Panthers likely score. Instead, they deadened their momentum. Carolina went three-and-out the next time with the ball. Then Brady went TB12.
“It’s fourth-and-inches. You should be able to convert that with a quarterback sneak,” Darnold said. “We just didn’t get it.”
Brady’s 28 minutes of losing to Darnold were no more. Less than 2 minutes later, Brady marched the Bucs 92 yards in eight plays. Receiver Breshad Perriman made a twirling sideline grab, setting up a 1-yard Le’Veon Bell touchdown. Tampa Bay received the second-half kickoff and scored another touchdown just seven plays later.
No one executes the middle eight (the four minutes at the end of first half and start of the second) better than Brady. Rhule knows this. Yet up 7-3 with 3:32 left, the Panthers threw two incompletions, went three-and-out and punted.
Once again, Darnold couldn’t overcome his coach’s decision-making, or his offensive line.
During the CBS broadcast, analyst Tony Romo said the Panthers “don’t block anyone.”
Darnold finished with 220 passing yards and two touchdowns. Tampa Bay sacked him twice and hit him six times. His two fourth-quarter turnovers were team failures. The interception came when Robby Anderson didn’t carry his route inside and down seam. A bad snap caused Darnold to mishandle the ball, which he never fully secured, and fumbled on a zone read.
Neither was Darnold’s fault, but these mistakes keep staining him.
The Panthers traded three draft picks for Darnold last spring: A 2021 sixth-round pick and a second- and fourth-round pick in this upcoming draft. In May, Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer picked up his fifth-year option, locking him into a $18 million contract next season, making him difficult to trade.
He’s the only Panthers quarterback currently under contract. Newton has played two snaps in two weeks and doesn’t have a place on Rhule’s Panthers.
Darnold should be back even though there are several scenarios where he isn’t. He showed enough against Tampa Bay that he’s worth keeping around. Besting Brady for 28 minutes wasn’t enough to win. But it showed Darnold belongs inside Carolina’s quarterback room, though not as a starter.
The Panthers have options this offseason. They could position themselves for a trade with the Texans for Watson, the Seahawks for former N.C. State star Wilson or — as unlikely as it may be — the Packers for Rodgers. Alternatively, they could look to the draft for a potential long-term solution in Kenny Pickett (Pitt), Malik Williams (Liberty) or Matt Corrall (Ole Miss).
Having Darnold back up any of them isn’t a bad situation.
Whoever is taking snaps for the Panthers next season, it’s on Rhule and Fitterer to fix the offense and fulfill the protection promises they didn’t keep for Darnold.
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Analysis: Sam Darnold returning as a Panthers QB next season is better than it sounds."
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