The Panthers lost their seventh game out of eight yesterday, falling to the Broncos 32-27 at home.
On the bright side, a couple of Carolina’s rookies stepped up with a significant increase in playing time. Here’s how the kids did this week.
Yetur Gross-Matos flashed a lot
Gross-Matos has flown under the radar a bit this year but he flashed a lot on Sunday with his ability to get consistent pressure on Denver quarterback Drew Lock. He played 69% of the team’s defensive snaps and finished with four tackles (one for a loss) and two QB hits.
Gross-Matos and Chinn combine for a huge TFL pic.twitter.com/Y6Rgd7FMux
— Nathan Fry (@FrySports) December 13, 2020
If he can stay on the field, Gross-Matos might just develop into a dominant defensive end like Brian Burns.
Jeremy Chinn is going to be special
Every week Chinn finds a new way to impact the game. Against Minnesota, he ran back two fumbles for touchdowns. This time around, Chinn blew up Lock on a blitz that almost resulted in a defensive score for Efe Obada.
Another forced fumble for Jeremy Chinn pic.twitter.com/lirkFPdaop
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) December 13, 2020
Chinn also made several dazzling tackles in the open field. He leads all NFL rookies with 94 this season.
Bravvion Roy stepped up
With starter Zach Kerr on the reserve/COVID-19 list, sixth-round pick Bravvion Roy earned another start and did well for himself. He posted three tackles, including half of one for a loss.
Derrick Brown still searching for first sack
Carolina’s first-round pick is still looking for his first sack in the NFL. Brown got a few pressures on Lock and one QB hit but still couldn’t get into the sack column. At least he didn’t have any penalties this week.
Seventh-round pick Stantley Thomas-Oliver saw his defensive snap count drop to just four with the return of Donte Jackson to the lineup, Myles Hartsfield continues to be a core special teams contributor and Kenny Robinson was inactive again.
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