The Carolina Panthers played about 50 minutes of very intriguing football against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. But, the final 10 were the ones that ultimately took the potential win away.
Nonetheless, here’s what we took away from the Week 11 defeat.
Baker Mayfield didn't do himself any favors
Maybe now we know why PJ Walker has been Carolina’s guy, even with Baker Mayfield at their disposal.
In his first start since being Wally Pipp’d after Week 5, Mayfield completed 21 of his 33 passing attempts for 196 yards and two interceptions. Once again, he could not push the ball downfield—pretty much at all—and led yet another punchless performance from the offense.
As a result, the Panthers chalked up all of three points, only 205 total yards and just as many three-and-outs as they did first-down conversions on third-down tries (three). It’s clear that Mayfield isn’t the answer under center.
So, with the Panthers inclined to keep Mayfield off the field—both for their offense and for their future draft asset—is Sam Darnold up next?
Al Holcomb's defense deserves a hand
A few days after referring to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as “Houdini in a helmet,” interim defensive coordinator Al Holcomb made some magic of his own.
Before allowing the first (and only) touchdown drive of the afternoon at the 7:16 mark of the fourth quarter, Carolina bottled up Baltimore’s second-ranked rushing game to just 79 yards on 21 carries. By game’s end, the Ravens finished with 115 rushing yards—the first time they failed to reach the 150-yard mark in nine outings.
As for Jackson, he tallied up all of 209 yards through the air and 31 yards on the ground. Plus, a few members of the Panthers defense recorded some firsts at his expense—with defensive tackle Bravvion Roy getting his first career interception and cornerback Jaycee Horn getting his first career sack.
CJ Henderson remains a liability in coverage
Again, the Ravens weren’t exactly booming on offense today. But they seemed to like the song they were playing whenever they looked Henderson’s way.
The former ninth overall selection was routinely targeted by Jackson. In fact, much of wideout Demarcus Robinson’s game-high nine catches and 129 receiving yards came when he was covered by Henderson.
Week 11 marks yet another outing where the 24-year-old defender was clearly picked on—as he allowed three catches for 46 yards on seven targets in Week 10 and eight catches for 65 yards on eight targets in Week 11.
With Henderson continuing to struggle in coverage, Keith Taylor Jr. may see more work in the role left vacated by Donte Jackson’s season-ending Achilles injury.
