Sunday was an afternoon of highs and lows for the Carolina Panthers in their 30-24 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Let’s see who Pro Football Focus graded out as their highs and lows for the team in their Week 17 defeat.
Best of the offense
1. TE Giovanni Ricci: 94.5
2. WR DJ Moore: 77.3
3. WR Shi Smith: 72.2
4. OL Cameron Erving: 71.3
5. RG Austin Corbett: 70.7
Moore and Smith helped lead what was a 326-yard passing day for Carolina. They both accounted for one touchdown apiece, with Moore totaling 117 yards on six grabs and Smith going for a season-high 70 yards on four.
And, to be fair, Ricci and Erving only played four snaps each—making those grades a bit skewed. If we take them out of the equation, the top five would then feature left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (69.3) and wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (67.0).
Worst of the offense
15. QB Sam Darnold: 55.7
16. TE Ian Thomas: 54.3
17. C Bradley Bozeman: 52.9
18. TE Stephen Sullivan: 51.5
19. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 47.3
Despite tying a career-high in passing yards (341), Darnold’s mistakes proved costly. He threw his first interception of the year, which came on a chuck to the end zone for Sullivan in the third quarter, and was charged with two lost fumbles.
Best of the defense
1. DE Henry Anderson: 77.0
2. LB Cory Littleton: 76.8
3. LB Shaq Thompson: 74.0
4. S Sam Franklin: 69.3
5. DE Marquis Haynes Sr.: 68.5
Anderson flashed a few times on Sunday, with all three of his tackles accounting as stops.
Thompson (12 tackles) was also strong against the Tampa Bay ground attack, posting a team-high 91.2 run defense grade while totaling two stops of his own.
Worst of the defense
15. DE Brian Burns: 55.3
16. DE Yetur Gross-Matos: 54.9
17. LB Frankie Luvu: 53.3
18. CB Keith Taylor Jr.: 46.6
19. CB CJ Henderson: 36.6
Apparently, career days don’t mean much to PFF. Even though he went for a career-best 13 tackles and a sack, Luvu lands near the bottom.
And, in a much more unsurprising result, the duo of Henderson and Taylor Jr. bring up the rear. They combined to allow 13 catches, 238 yards and three touchdowns over 16 targets.
