Everything was going so well for Kony Ealy. Then Sunday happened.
The Panthers' second-year defensive end wound up watching most of Carolina's win at New Orleans, playing a career-low 12 snaps. That's hardly the amount of playing time you'd expect for a guy who came in with a sack in five straight games.
Some of that can be explained by a knee Ealy tweaked in the first quarter when someone fell on his leg during a Saints' extra point. After trainers had checked him out, he spent most of the first half pacing the sideline.
The rest is because of what happened when he returned to the field in the third quarter. Ealy was called for neutral zone infractions on back-to-back snaps, and after that, he disappeared from the defensive end rotation.
“You're not going to be on the field when you jump offsides," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said.
Ealy admitted he may have been fooled when Saints' quarterback Drew Brees switched up his cadence, but it's not like he was using that as an excuse.
"I got back in the third quarter off-rhythm and made two bonehead decisions like jumping offsides and put us in a critical spot," Ealy said.
"As a professional, I have to move on from it."