Black and Blue Review
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Panthers’ disappointing season is how they are losing. They are too often giving themselves little chance to win.
In seven of their eight losses, the Panthers have gone into the fourth quarter facing double-digit deficits.
The Vikings led 28-13 after three quarters Sunday, but afterward, when he was asked if it was hard to swallow how many times his team has taken itself out of a game early, coach Ron Rivera bristled.
“I wouldn’t say so many. A few, yes. And I wouldn’t say out of it, I would just say we were behind the 8-ball,” Rivera said.
The Panthers’ cumulative deficit after the third quarter against the Steelers, Ravens, Packers, Saints, Eagles, Falcons, and Vikings: 192-49. That is a pretty big 8-ball.
Some of the biggest issues are occurring well before the fourth quarter.
The Panthers have been stunningly inept before halftime. They came into Sunday with the league’s worst scoring average in both the first quarter (2.5) and first half (6.3). Those rankings are unlikely to improve this week. The offense drove into the Vikings’ red zone twice in the first half, but each trip ended with field goals.
Since Week 7, the Panthers have scored only one touchdown in the first half, and they have just six touchdowns in the first two quarters all season.
Of course, the offense is not solely to blame. Special teams have given up three first-half touchdowns in three games, and the defense has been leaky since it posted opening-half shutouts against the Bucs and Lions. For the season, the Panthers have been outscored 178-72 in the first half.
Losses are bad. Blowout losses are really bad. And early on in too many games, so are the Panthers.
“It sucks. There’s really no other way to put it. It’s really disappointing. It’s frustrating. It’s every adjective you can come up with,” tight end Greg Olsen said. “Right now we’re not very good. We’re not playing very well, and you lose in this league when you play poorly.”