The Carolina Panthers were clearly lining up against 12 players (or 11 players and about 68,000 fans) on every down this afternoon.
Week 3’s disappointing defeat to the Seattle Seahawks was filled with all kinds of noise for head coach Frank Reich and company. Carolina’s offense committed a total of eight false start penalties in the 37-27 loss, caused primarily by The 12’s (Seattle’s crowd) and the raucous conditions of Lumen Field.
Buy Panthers TicketsReich, obviously, was not happy about it.
“Comin’ in, we knew the environment would be tough—good football and a tough place to play,” he stated afterwards. “The number of penalties was totally inexcusable, pathetic.”
Much of that laundry came from the offensive line, as four of the eight false starts were charged to left tackle Ikem Ekwonu. Right tackle Taylor Moton picked up two while left guard Chandler Zavala picked up the other.
Overall, the team’s output—particularly through the air—was relatively encouraging. In a breath of fresh air compared to their first two outings, backup quarterback Andy Dalton led a 334-yard, two-touchdown passing performance.
Those miscues, however, made pulling off the upset considerably tougher. And Reich, who was on a bit of a roll in his post-game presser, had some more vitriol for the brain farts.
“That starts with me, as an offensive coach,” he’d later add. “That starts with our offense coaches—getting our players ready. And that starts with our players. Unacceptable. It’s like we never played in the noise before.
“We knew it was comin’, we practiced all week with noise. I mean, Wednesday it was so loud out there, you couldn’t even think.”
Well, at least they’ll be at home next Sunday.
