Yes, a Panthers’ offense that scored 46 points a week earlier was shut out in the second half. And sure, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was sacked five times in the final two quarters. But Sunday’s game against the Vikings should’ve been over at the half.
At the break, the Panthers led:
One of those numbers isn’t like the others.
“We can’t turn the ball over. We can’t miss opportunities. We can’t have penalties that take away opportunities,” coach Ron Rivera said afterward.
“They made a play on special teams, they did some good things on the defensive side and we didn’t capitalize when we had the opportunity earlier on in the game.”
And it wasn’t just an opportunity. It was at least nine of them.
After the Panthers’ offense had scored 10 points on its first two drives, the defense had a chance to pad the lead. But instead of catching Sam Bradford’s pass, Vernon Butler knocked it down:
(NFL Game Pass)
With the Panthers pinned deep, it appeared a Cameron Artis-Payne 20-yard run dug them out of trouble. But Ed Dickson was called for holding Chad Greenway, who may or may not have stopped Artis-Payne before he turned the edge:
Newton hoped to continue taking more “layups” this season, and this would have been an ideal time to come off the deep read for a dump down to Dickson:
Of course, Newton would’ve had more time if Michael Oher had stayed on his feet against Danielle Hunter:
Rookie James Bradberry had a solid game against Stefon Diggs, who came in as the league’s leader in receiving yards. But Bradberry barely missed grabbing his second interception in as many games:
Take a touchdown off the board.
Fozzy Whittaker’s highlight-worthy 56-yard score was wiped out a needless block in the back by Kelvin Benjamin.
“It’s one of those things you’d like to say, ‘At that point, you can just let him go and let Fozzy do his thing,'” Rivera said. “‘You may have started on the side, but once your hands get to the back, just don’t push.’ And unfortunately, that’s what happened.”
In all the post-loss investigations, this play hasn’t gotten enough attention.
Up 10-2, the Panthers took over at the Minnesota 42-yard line. After Artis-Payne picked up 5 yards with a pair of runs, the chains should’ve kept moving. But Devin Funchess dropped a pass that would’ve given the Panthers a 1st down inside the Vikings’ 25.
“Those little things all of a sudden effect another play that could effect field position that all of a sudden effects momentum,” offensive coordinator Mike Shula said.
Instead of a new set of downs and a potential 17-2 game, the Panthers sent out the field goal unit. 54 yards isn’t a gimme, but Graham Gano should’ve extended the lead:
In their first 5 drives, the Vikings had gained just 35 yards. They weren’t a threat to score. Offensively, at least.
Marcus Sherels was another story, especially when he was able to split would-be tacklers Daryl Worley, Joe Webb and Jared Norris:
When Ted Ginn Jr. came to Carolina in 2013, Newton vowed to never overthrow the speedy wideout. He sure could’ve used more zip on this pass after Ginn had run past Waynes:
So, again, the Panthers certainly could’ve won in the second half. But this was a game they should’ve closed out in the first.
“If we hit the plays that we want to hit on those things, it’ll start to negate people wanting to pressure us certain ways,” Rivera said.
“You put them in position where they’ve got to play catch-up, now it’s a little bit different. Again, it goes back to being able to keep that lead and put people in a position where they’ve got to do things they don’t want to.”