We seem to be getting the same ol’ story with these 2023 Carolina Panthers, who put forth another anemic offensive performance in another loss on Sunday. But do the snap counts tell us anything different?
Here are our biggest takeaways from Week 11’s totals:
A dynamic duo
The gap between running backs Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders is continuing to close. Sunday saw the former on the field for 29 snaps and latter for 27.
That two-play difference is a far cry from what we’ve seen in recent weeks amidst Sanders’ struggles. He was out-snapped by Hubbard 45 to 12 in Week 8, 46 to 18 in Week 9 and 30 to 23 in Week 10.
Both looked solid in their near-equal timeshare as well, with Hubbard rushing for 57 yards on 10 carries and Sanders for 50 on 11. Whether it was their rhythm, a dominant offensive trench or a little of both—this was, by far, the most efficient this backfield duo looked all season.
Chark in troubled waters?
Wide receiver DJ Chark returned after missing the team’s prior contest with an elbow injury. You couldn’t, however, tell by looking at the box score.
Chark registered 44 snaps, accounting for 75 percent of the offense’s presence. But he also registered as many targets on the day as Greg Olsen did.
Perhaps being as effective as a broadcaster who hasn’t played in three years speaks to the disappointing season for Chark and the Panthers offense as a whole. Once thought to be a big-play threat, he’s now at 17 receptions, 229 yards and three scores through eight games.
King of the Hill
Cornerback Troy Hill, in what may have been the defense’s toughest test to date, showed out.
The ninth-year vet played in 56 defensive snaps, his second-highest mark of the season. He allowed six receptions for 35 yards on nine targets and chalked up four stops.
Although the Panthers may be getting closer to having Jaycee Horn and CJ Henderson back, Hill made the case for some extra playing time moving forward.
