In a step back from what we’ve mostly seen out of interim head coach Steve Wilks’ team, the Carolina Panthers were outmatched and bullied by the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday.
The Week 15 loss materialized through an uncomfortable day in the pocket for Sam Darnold, a muted running game and defenseless defense that couldn’t find a way off the field. Pittsburgh brought their pass rush (four sacks), their running game (156) and certainly their third-down offense (75-percent success rate).
As far as Carolina’s lost identity on the day, their offense looked neutered without a strong running game to base it around—mustering up all of 21 yards on 16 carries. That ineffectiveness, in turn, reflected some desperate play-calling from the lost unit.
Even though it’s difficult to achieve your maximum potential in this particular approach while facing constant traffic in the trenches, it should be up to offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo to come up with some solutions to overcome such barriers. He simply did not.
Darnold played well enough to put more faith into the passing game, especially given the amount of pressure he was put under by the Steelers defensive line, but remained limited by conservative play-calling in a tight game. Carolina, who’s clearly trying to mask their quarterback’s turnover-prone history, will need to find more ways to open up this offense in games where they cannot get a run attack going.
Surprisingly, the fifth-year passer has shown a lot of growth since last season—as he has yet to throw an interception. If he can continue to improve, Darnold he may be able to push this group over the top to make it resemble a legitimate NFL offense.
Then, for the defense, the guys must return to their top-notch selves. While the unit wasn’t completely broken against the Steelers, you’re not going to win many games allowing 12 third-down conversions on 16 tries.
Wilks has made it clear that he is open to adjustments and solutions, be it at halftime or game to game. So, hopefully, he can take that flexibility and scheme something up to help add some ferociousness and grit outside of defensive linemen Derrick Brown and Brian Burns.
Once both the offense and defense are clicking to their fullest potential, there is enough talent on this team to make a push for the divisional crown and enter their names into the playoff race. But those solutions need to come sooner rather than later—especially with the potent and white-hot Detroit Lions coming up on Saturday.
