If the Carolina Panthers were seeking warmth during the break at a frosty Lambeau Field while facing an even colder 21-3 deficit at halftime, they were in luck. Steve Smith brought the heat.
The franchise great and current NFL Network analyst lit up Carolina during NFL Network’s halftime show, likening the Green Bay Packers’ leisurely, easy-going dominance over his former team to that of elderly mall-walkers. In a less eloquent summation of Smith’s rant—they were comfortably strolling right through the Panthers, getting what they wanted whenever they wanted it.
That breezy strut eventually turned into a brisk walk, followed by a pretty sweaty jog. And by the two-minute warning came, those galavanting seniors were in an all-out dash trying to keep the cats off their tail.
Well, you may know by now that those cats never caught up, as Green Bay held on to top Carolina, 24-16. But it was the thrill of the chase for these Panthers that’s worth remembering more than the final score.
Smith wasn’t wrong about the Packers in the first half, as they reached the end zone on each of their first three drives while converting on all four of their third-downs. With 3:58 remaining in the second quarter, Green Bay’s 21-spot was powered by 163 yards of total offense on 27 plays over 14 minutes and two seconds.
Over the next 15 minutes we finally saw some resistance from the NFL’s most rookie-heavy defense—and some impressive resistance at that.
The group got home for five sacks on Aaron Rodgers, helping translate into an average of 7.2 per completion for the two-time MVP—the third-lowest clip over his last five seasons. They also limited the Packers to 49 net yards in the second half, their second-lowest such total of the last two decades, while forcing punts on six of their final seven drives.
Much of that can be attributed to the play of rookie defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who is coming on like a freight train. The 2020 No. 7 overall selection was practically impossible for Green Bay to contain and accounted for two of the team’s five sacks on the night.
After a rough start to his season, one that saw the 22-year-old litter the field with penalty flags on numerous occasions, Brown has tightened up his game tremendously of late. Instead of hearing his number called for having jumped offsides or using every ounce of his 326-pound caboose to illegally rough up a ball carrier, we’re hearing it called for blowing through an offensive line and eating up some sorry blocker in the backfield.
Brown’s performance on Saturday also helped give way to another shining young star, defensive end Brian Burns. Burns also had a pair of sacks, including the biggest of the night, which gave Carolina the ball back with a minute left down by one score. Even though the stop didn’t lead to a game-tying score on the other end, the second-year stud solidified what we’ve seen all year on the sack and throughout the night—that’s there no quit in this elite playmaker.
Along with *checks notes* safety/linebacker/edge rusher/sometimes nickel cornerback Jeremy Chinn, who chalked up the 100th tackle of his exceptional rookie season, coach Matt Rhule has three promising building blocks for his young defensive unit. Their refusal to roll up in a ball after Rodgers and company pounded them for 21 early points is proof of that winning culture he’s talked so much about.
Despite this failure, the future is bright for this Panthers defense. And even in a loss, it shined particularly bright on primetime TV in Green Bay. Take that, Smitty.
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