A rough start to the Baker Mayfield era continued for the Panthers in Week 4 as fans unleashed their frustrations late in Sunday’s 26–16 loss to the Cardinals.
Panthers supporters inside Bank of America Stadium showered Mayfield and his offense with boos after Cardinals defensive tackle Zach Allen tipped a pass on fourth-and-3 with 9:13 remaining in the game. The fifth-year quarterback helmed another stagnant effort to begin his Panthers tenure, finishing 22-of-36 for 197 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions and one lost fumble.
After the game, Mayfield acknowledged the disgruntled fanbase’s response to Carolina’s third loss through four weeks and had a bold message for those who have something to say about the club’s early-season performance.
“Obviously, I’m frustrated with the fact that we’re 1–3. We’re four weeks into the year. We can sit here and let you guys pile on us or we’re gonna come together as a locker room,” Mayfield said, via WCNC’s Nick Carboni. “I don’t really care about the fact that our fans are booing or what’s going on. We’re going to figure it out and when we win it’ll still be just us in the locker room and that’s really all I care about so we’re gonna be just fine.”
When asked if the boos impacted him, Mayfield fired back with an interesting reference to the Panthers’ series following the boos: a nine-play, 74-yard TD drive capped by a 13-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey and a failed two-point conversion with 4:47 remaining in regulation. The score cut the deficit from 16 to 10 on Carolina’s last drive of the game.
“Did we go down and score a touchdown after they started booing? Yes,” Mayfield said.
As the leader of a unit that ranks last in the NFL in total offense, Mayfield and coach Matt Rhule enter Week 5 in a precarious position as the Panthers continue to search for answers.
Carolina will look to hopefully give their fans something to cheer about next Sunday when the visiting 49ers come to Charlotte.
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