As a whole, the Carolina Panthers went from stud to dud on Sunday. But how about on an individual scale?
Here are the best and worst performances from the team in their 30-24 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stud: QB Sam Darnold
Darnold may have thrown his first interception of the season and he may have been credited with two lost fumbles—even though one came on an unexpected snap. But he did give the Panthers offense a chance on a day where their rushing game was shut down.
The fifth-year quarterback completed 23 of his 37 throws in tying a career-high 341 passing yards. He also notched three touchdowns—spreading the rock around on beautiful chucks to tight end Tommy Tremble and wideouts DJ Moore and Shi Smith.
Unfortunately, his failure to feel the pressure on the strip sack by linebacker Anthony Nelson resulted in what was essentially the deciding turnover. Overall, however, Darnold was calm, composed and creative through the majority of this important outing.
Dud: Panthers rushing game
The rushing game is the bread and butter of the Panthers offense. And the bread was not buttered.
Again, the ground was pretty much cut off for Carolina—as they amassed 74 yards on 22 carries. Runnings back D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard—who both ran for career-highs of 165 yards and 125 yards last week—combined for just 47 yards on 16 attempts.
Stud: WR DJ Moore
After averaging just 45.6 receiving yards through the first 11 games of the season, Moore has come on strong over the past five weeks. He added to his revived run with 117 yards and a score on six catches against Tampa Bay.
Since Week 12, precisely when Darnold took over under center, Moore has averaged 75.2 yards per outing with a score in four of the five games.
Dud: WR Terrace Marshall Jr.
After recording catches of 36 yards and 40 yards between Weeks 15 and 16, Marshall Jr. couldn’t find the big play in the biggest game of all. The second-year pass catcher went for 15 yards on a pair of grabs, failing to really factor in to a 326-yard passing day for Carolina.
Stud: WR Shi Smith
The second-year pass catcher that did make some noise, Smith amassed a season-high 70 receiving yards on four catches. One of those four receptions came in the end zone, on a 19-yard strike from Darnold to start the fourth quarter.
Dud: WR/PR Andre Roberts
Roberts was active for his first time since Week 1, when he sustained a knee injury that kept him out for 13 of his 14 absences that followed. But he did not provide the spark Carolina’s special teams unit was hoping for.
The former All-Pro returner took back two punts for a combined six yards. He also nearly lost an attempt, a close call that was ruled down by contact.
Stud: LB Frankie Luvu
Luvu continues to be an absolute star for this defense. He notched a career-high 13 tackles, with three coming for a loss.
He also notched a sack of quarterback Tom Brady, bringing his career-high total up to 7.0.
Duds: Panthers DBs
Yeah, you knew this was coming.
Whether it was CJ Henderson, Keith Taylor Jr. or safety Xavier Woods, the Carolina secondary allowed a sleepy Tampa offense to finally wake up. For the first time since Week 4, the Bucs cracked the 24-point mark—thanks in large part to their passing attack.
Quarterback Tom Brady completed 34 of his 45 throws for a season-high 432 yards and three touchdowns. The main beneficiaries were wideouts Mike Evans (207 receiving yards and those three scores) and Mike Godwin (120 receiving yards).
