So, uh, that was something, wasn’t it?
Although it didn’t result in a win, the Carolina Panthers’ Week 6 outing against the Los Angeles Rams produced some intriguing “results” to say the least. Let’s dig into it.
Is the offense beyond repair?
If it wasn’t already, it’s now crystal clear that the Panthers are absolutely broken on offense—and it starts at the top with coordinator Ben McAdoo. Thanks to yet another bland game plan, Carolina put up little to no resistance in, perhaps, their most punchless performance of the season.
Over a lowly 44 plays, the group amassed a total of 203 yards and zero trips to the end zone while collecting five more three-and-outs and just two third-down conversions on 10 tries. That output was accentuated by the attack, or lack thereof, from the passing game—which produced just 21 passes for 110 yards between PJ Walker and Jacob Eason.
With very few, if any shots downfield to establish an aerial presence, the Panthers again hiked the vast majority of the workload on running back Christian McCaffrey—who accounted for 158 of those total yards. So if not for McCaffrey, no matter who’s under center, this offense may not even have a dimension to it.
Defense remains prone to chunk plays
While the only touchdown of the game came courtesy of this unit (shoutout to cornerback Donte Jackson), the defense turned to mush in the second half.
What was a struggling Rams offense pieced together back-to-back dominant drives between the third and fourth quarters. Those two touches, which went for a combined 141 yards and two touchdowns, spanned over just 15 plays.
And that’s because the Panthers, in a recurring theme over the past handful of seasons, proved vulnerable to big gains. Los Angeles picked up chunks of at least 15 yards four times in that run, which eventually put this game way out of reach.
We may have seen the last of Robbie Anderson
Anderson was already the topic of trade rumors coming into the week. What happened today will probably intensify those beliefs.
The seventh-year wideout, who was agitated at being pulled off the field on third downs, got into the face of receivers coach Joe Dailey and proceeded to isolate himself from the team on the sideline. He’d then, at the start of the fourth quarter, be sent to the locker room by interim head coach Steve Wilks—a move that Anderson admitted confused him.
As of now, Anderson has recorded just 13 receptions for 206 yards and one touchdown through six games—fresh off a career-worst campaign in 2021. It may be time to just move on from the 29-year-old, who has failed to find his way after signing a two-year extension last summer.
