Sunday’s suboptimal conditions certainly factored in to how the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons played out their Week 15 matchup. The unrelenting rain and the wind forced both teams to go outside of their normal approaches to accommodate the presence of Mother Nature.
So, while the snap counts from Carolina’s 9-7 victory are quite interesting, we may have to take away these takeaways with a grain of salt . . .
Creativity
We knew the Panthers would run the rock as much as they could in this one. But did anyone expect Ihmir Smith-Marsette to tally four rushes?
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown got creative with the speedy wide receiver in a few attempts to throw off the Falcons defense. Smith-Marsette rewarded Brown and the Panthers with 31 rushing yards, 20 more than rookie sensation Bijan Robinson—who had three more attempts.
Even if it’s only for the season’s final three weeks, perhaps Smith-Marsette assumes the gadget role Laviska Shenault Jr. was supposed to fill.
Action for Jackson
10th-year hog molly Gabe Jackson saw his first action of 2023 on Sunday, and it happened in an even split.
He came on to begin the second half in place of starting right guard Nash Jensen, who recorded 33 snaps in the first two quarters. Jackson proceeded to close out the contest with 33 snaps of his own, earning a 78.7 run-blocking grade and a 71.9 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.
Once again, the Panthers—who have fielded eight players at right guard and seven at left guard this season—may have themselves another decision to make on the interior of their offensive line.
Phasing out Henderson?
Again, the wildly wet conditions made for an unusual game plan in Week 15. So, given Atlanta’s stubbornness to stick to the ground, the six snaps for cornerback CJ Henderson wouldn’t look as paltry as they normally would.
But those six snaps came off a week where he didn’t play at all on defense.
Since returning from his concussion, Henderson has popped in for 28 of a possible 166 defensive snaps (16.9 percent). In games where he did not leave early due to injury from Week 1 to Week 9, he played in 342 of 362 defensive snaps (94.5 percent).
With Henderson’s contract set to expire at season’s end, it’s fair to wonder if his tenure in Carolina is about to go out with a whimper.
