Jeremy Chinn shines, Teddy Bridgewater flops in Panthers’ heartbreaking defeat

Is it good if your best source of offense comes from your defense? Asking for a friend . . .

Is it good if your best source of offense comes from your defense? Asking for a friend . . .

Well, it’s not good if you’re Teddy Bridgewater, whose struggles on Sunday held the Carolina Panthers back from a second straight victory. The team’s 28-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, a setback that not only impacted their immediate future by squashing any playoff hopes that remained, gave us another look into what their future shouldn’t be—one with No. 5 still under center.

In his return off a knee injury that kept him out of Carolina’s 20-0 win last week, Bridgewater was anything but sharp—which is one supposed attribute his game hangs its hat on. The box score, at least in this instance, does tell the story, as the league’s second-most accurate thrower in 2020 completed just 19 of his 36 attempts for 267 yards, one touchdown and an interception. But, quite frankly, those numbers put lipstick on a pig of a performance.

Bridgewater was off from the start, connecting just once on his first seven tries. After getting some help from Curtis Samuel on a 17-yard completion for his eighth, his ninth wound up right in the hands of Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, ending an 11-play drive at the Minnesota 12-yard line.

To be fair, this turnover was in-part due to a strange design, as it crossed up a wide receiver and a running back into the same space. So, who do you hit? Welp . . . Bridgewater’s throw really didn’t answer that question, as it was too far behind Robby Anderson and too far ahead of Mike Davis.

Anderson would (sort-of) get burned by his quarterback again, this time on a 34-yard completion that very well could have been a 65-yard touchdown. Robby hit a slick double move on cornerback Kris Boyd to free himself downfield. Teddy, however, threw towards the sideline rather than straight ahead towards the end zone, putting a big cap on the play.

Despite the huge gain, this drive resulted in a field goal, trading off seven points for just three. With no Vikings defender over the top of Anderson, though, Bridgewater missed a potential backbreaker that could’ve given the Panthers a 28-13 lead with 13 minutes left in the game.

Bridgewater, instead, broke his own team’s back on Minnesota’s three-yard line with 1:56 remaining. Up 24-21 and coming off a muffed punt from Vikings returner Chad Beebe, he missed an open DJ Moore in the end zone on a third-down try. The throw also crossed up Moore and caused a non-contact injury to his ankle.

The Panthers settled for another field goal, went ahead by just six points and set the stage for a seven-play, 75-yard game-winning touchdown drive by Minnesota that ended in the mitts of (you guessed it) Chad Beebe. Redemption!

Anyway, now for the good news portion of our recap. Remember when we mentioned earlier in this here recap that the best offense came from the defense? Yup, enter Jeremy Chinn.

Chinn racked up 12 points by his lonesome, scooping up a fumble for a 17-yard touchdown return to start the second half. Then, on the very next play from scrimmage, he’d strip running Dalvin Cook, snatch that ball up and bring it back for 28 yards and another six points.

The Panthers have had noted troubles all season getting a grasp out of the break, averaging only 3.1 points per third quarter (28th in the NFL). Apparently, Chinn had enough, becoming the first defensive player in league history to score on consecutive snaps.

Carolina’s do-it-all stud has been doing exactly that (it all) throughout the entire season. He’s lined up literally everywhere, save for the interior of the line, in amassing a gaudy 87 total tackles to lead all rookies.

And, yes, that play has put him at the top of the list for Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates. That’s nice and all. But, more importantly, it has given the Panthers an assurance the previous player mentioned above has not.

With Chinn, the Panthers know they have a future pillar. Like Brian Burns, his versatility, skill set and blinding quickness has the franchise and its fans looking ahead to a bright future.

In a year where their defense was anything but certain, Burns and Chinn have been.

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