The Panthers are getting shut out and embarrassed by their division rivals from Tampa today. They trail the Buccaneers 21-0 at halftime.
Here’s a review of what happened in a disastrous first half.
Offense
Teddy Bridgewater set the tone for this blowout-in-the-making with a horrific first quarter. He threw a head-shaking interception on a short screen pass on the team’s first possession of the game, then displayed some Kyle Allen-like ball security on a fumble the next. Tampa scored quickly after both turnovers, putting Carolina in an early 14-0 hole. The offensive line is having trouble protecting him, too. Bridgewater has been sacked three times.
The one bright spot so far on offense has been the gritty running of Christian McCaffrey. He’s totaled 56 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches.
Defense
The rumors of old man Tom Brady’s demise appear to have been exaggerated. As expected, Brady has bounced back from an uncharacteristic two-pick performance against the Saints. Even with his top wide receiver Chris Godwin ruled out, Brady is feasting on this young Panthers defense with precision passing. He has already thrown for 198 yards and a touchdown while averaging 8.6 yards per attempt. A lot of the damage was done by Mike Evans, who has five catches, 91 yards and one score.
The defense isn’t getting run over like it normall does, allowing just 2.3 yards per carry for Tampa. That’s not much of a consolation prize, though.
Special teams
The Panthers tried a fake punt midway through the second quarter in a desperate spot on a fourth and three. However, the designed run for Jeremy Chinn was stopped short. Going for it was the right move by Matt Rhule. The trick play, not so much.
The Panthers will receive to begin the third quarter.
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