Tag: Carolina Panthers

Watch: Redskins linebacker ejected for this head shot on Greg Olsen

You simply can’t hit players like this anymore.

The NFL has changed a lot since the Redskins were relevant back in the peak of the Joe Gibbs era. You simply can’t hit players like this anymore. Watch Washington linebacker Ryan Anderson lay an egregious head shot on Panthers tight end Greg Olsen.

Anderson was flagged for a 15-yard penalty and rightly ejected from the game. Olsen is now in the locker room getting looked at. There’s a good chance he suffered a concussion on that one.

After a promising start, this has turned into the sloppiest game of the year. The Panthers trail 15-14 late in the third quarter.

Update:

Olsen is indeed in the concussion protocol and will not return.

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Watch: Kyle Allen throws another bad pick near his own end zone

Watch Allen throw another gruesome interception near his own end zone that almost became a pick-six.

For a minute there it looked like Kyle Allen was going to have another Arizona-like outing against Washington. He threw two touchdowns in the first quarter and appeared to be in rare form. Allen’s game has fallen off a cliff in the second stanza, though. Watch Allen throw another gruesome interception near his own end zone that almost became a pick-six. He just flat out missed D.J. Moore badly.

Fabian Moreau may have been stopped short of the goal line there, but the Redskins went on to score, anyway. They tried a two-point conversion and did not succeed. The score is now 14-12.

Allen also missed a wide open Curtis Samuel earlier on a play that should have resulted in a touchdown.

After starting the game 8/8, Allen has now missed six of his last seven passes.

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Panthers Highlights: D.J. Moore burns Washington’s ‘defense’ for another TD

The Panthers lead 14-0 and the first quarter isn’t close to over yet.

This Washington secondary is . . . not good. Watch Panthers receiver D.J. Moore score his team’s second touchdown of the day on a corner route that resulted in him being embarrassingly wide open.

Curtis Samuel is also flashing. Together, the two have combined for four catches, 60 yards and two touchdowns.

The Panthers lead 14-0 and the first quarter isn’t close to over yet.

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Panthers Highlights: Curtis Samuel catches fifth touchdown pass of the season

Carolina leads 7-0.

Opening drives don’t get much easier than the one the Panthers just pulled off against the Redskins. Watch wide receiver Curtis Samuel cap it off with his fifth touchdown catch of the season. Samuel showed excellent footwork in the back of the end zone.

Christian McCaffrey led the way for most of the drive, totaling 39 yards from scrimmage and making a few defenders miss bad. Washington DT Daron Payne helped by hitting Kyle Allen when he was sliding, drawing a dumb 15-yard penalty in the process.

Carolina leads 7-0.

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Panthers K Joey Slye struggled during windy warmups

Wind could be a significant factor for Slye today.

The Panthers should be able to take care of business against a pretty pathetic Redskins team at home today. One thing that could work against them is if kicker Joey Slye continues to struggle. Slye has been regressing ever since the London game against the Buccaneers. Last week, Slye missed two extra point attempts and a critical short field goal late in the game against the Saints.

A few days ago, the team added former Browns kicker Greg Joseph to the practice squad. However, they’re rolling with Slye once again. They may come to regret that, because it sounds like he may be in for another rough game. According to the Charlotte Observer, Slye’s warmups didn’t go great. He missed two wide right.

Wind could be a significant factor for Slye today. It’s currently blowing around 15mph at the stadium.

Slye seems to be as good as any kicker in the league when it comes to attempts of 50 yards or more – he’s connected on six of nine so far this season. He’s been less successful on shorter field goals, though. Slye is 73.1% on field goals and 84.6% kicking extra points for the year.

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Panthers Week 13 inactives: Greg Little ruled out vs. Washington

The Carolina Panthers have released their inactives list for today’s game against the Washington Redskins.

The Carolina Panthers have released their inactives list for today’s game against the Washington Redskins.

Here’s a look at who won’t be playing today.

DE Wes Horton
OL Brad Lundblade
EDGE Marquis Haynes
OT Greg Little
LB Jordan Kunaszyk
WR Brandon Zylstra
CB Corn Elder

The big name here is second-round pick Greg Little, who has had a frustrating rookie season to say the least. A concussion put him out from Weeks 4-11 and now he’s dealing with an ankle injury. Expect Dennis Daley to take his spot at left tackle, today.

On the other side, Washington will be without its top edge pass rusher. Ryan Kerrigan has been ruled out for the first time in his NFL career. Wide receiver Paul Richardson is also out.

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Look: Josh Norman hanging out on Panthers’ bench during warmups

Redskins CB Josh Norman hanging out on Panthers’ bench during warmups.

It’s been four years since former Panthers cornerback Josh Norman set foot inside Bank of America Stadium. A couple of hours before kickoff, Norman is currently hanging out on Carolina’s bench during warmups talking to some of his old friends.

Norman has been spotted chatting with Panthers tight ends coach Pete Hoener, as well as Greg Olsen.

This might be about all we’ll see of Norman. He’s had a rough season and will not start in today’s game. Looking ahead, the Redskins can save $12.5 million by cutting Norman before June 1, 2020 so it’s probable his time in Washington is almost over.

Norman played the first four years of his career with the Panthers and was an integral part of the 2015 team that went to the Super Bowl. He was a Pro Bowler that season but hasn’t been back since.

Former general manager Dave Gettleman ran Norman out of town after that season. Now that he’s out of the picture, it’s possible we will see a reunion once Norman’s career is over. Perhaps he’ll sign a one-day contract and will retire with the Panthers. Time will tell.

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NFC Playoff Picture: Who to root for as Bears make Wild Card push

The Bears are going to need some help if they’re going to make a Wild Card push in the final quarter of the season. Here’s who to root for.

With the Bears’ Thanksgiving victory over the Lions, they improved to 6-6 on the season and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.

There’s a lot that needs to happen if the Bears are going to make a push for a Wild Card berth. First off, they essentially need to win out over these final four games, which include games against the Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs and Vikings.

Even if the Bears are able to do that, they’re going to need help from other NFC Wild Card hopefuls, most notably the Vikings and Rams, if they’re going to have a shot down the stretch in the fourth quarter of the season.

While the Bears need a lot of help, it’ll be good to see them playing meaningful football in December.

Here are four games that Bears fans should keep an eye on in the NFC playoff race:

Panthers (5-6) vs. Redskins (2-9)

This should be an easy conference matchup for the Panthers, who will face a struggling Redskins team led by Dwayne Haskins. Then again, the Panthers have lost four of their last five games.

The Bears currently hold an edge over the Panthers in terms of conference record, which means that even if they beat the Redskins they’ll sit behind Chicago after Week 13.

Eagles (5-6) vs. Dolphins (2-9)

You figure this is another easy matchup for a struggling Eagles team that needs a win, and Bears might want to root for the Eagles against the Dolphins.

In terms of the NFC East, if the Bears are able to beat the Cowboys on Thursday night, then Bears fans should root for the Eagles to win the division as Chicago would own the tiebreaker over Dallas. The Eagles beat the Bears 22-14 earlier this season.

Rams (6-5) vs. Cardinals (3-7-1)

The Bears know firsthand how wonky divisional games can be, and Chicago fans will certainly be rooting for a Cardinals upset of the Rams on Sunday.

This is another team that the Bears need some help from as the Rams own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago following a Week 11 primetime win. If the Cardinals can beat the Rams, Los Angeles would drop to 6-6 and the Bears would be a half game out of that seventh Wild Card spot. The Rams will face the Seahawks, Cowboys, 49ers and Cardinals again in their final four games.

Vikings (8-3) vs. Seahawks (9-2)

This Monday Night Football showdown is certainly the most important game of the week as everyone in the NFC Wild Card race is chasing the Vikings. The NFC’s current wild card teams will face-off on the primetime stage, and Bears fans should be rooting heavily for the Seahawks.

The Bears currently own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings, and they’ll play them again in the regular-season finale. If everything goes Chicago’s way, that Week 17 contest could be a play-in for a Wild Card berth. The Bears would need the Vikings to lose three of their final five games, starting Monday night against Seattle.

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Redskins won’t have Ryan Kerrigan, Paul Richardson vs. Panthers

This is news because until now Kerrigan has never missed a game in his career.

The Panthers have had as much bad luck with injuries as any NFL team this year. Now that rookie running back Jordan Scarlett has been placed on injured reserve, 12 players have been on that list this season.

At this time of year every team is banged up though. That includes today’s opponent, who will be missing two key players.

According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Redskins won’t have outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan or wide receiver Paul Richardson available for Sunday’s matchup.

This is news because until now Kerrigan has never missed a game in his career. He suffered a concussion in last week’s win over the Lions.

It’s a significant loss as Kerrigan is Washington’s best edge rusher and one of the most underrated in the league. He has 4.5 sacks this season, bringing his career total to 89. The guy who will benefit most from Kerrigan’s absence is right tackle Taylor Moton, who has become Carolina’s most consistent offensive lineman.

As for Richardson (who is dealing with a hamstring injury), his speed makes him the Redskins’ best deep threat receiver – not that Dwayne Haskins is really capable of taking advantage of that as of yet.

Donte Jackson would have been tasked with slowing him down. With James Bradberry taking on Terry McLaurin, Jackson will matchup with the likes of rookie Kelvin Harmon, who played college ball at NC State. Harmon can’t compete with Jackson for pure game speed, but his size (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) could present a challenge.

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Panthers vs. Redskins: 3 keys to a Week 13 win over Washington

Here are three keys to avoiding what would be an embarrassing upset.

The Panthers are considered big favorites heading into today’s home game against the Redskins. As bad as Washington looks this year, every NFL team is a threat if you don’t take them seriously.

Here are three keys to avoiding what would be an embarrassing upset.

1. Contain Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice

Peterson is now long past his prime when he was the most dynamic running back in the entire NFL and the last to win the MVP award. That doesn’t mean he can’t hurt you, though. The Panthers found that out the hard way in last year’s loss when Peterson ran for 97 yards on just 17 carries. This season, teams have been able to contain him to just 4.1 yards per rush and only one touchdown. Coach Ron Rivera shouldn’t hesitate to load up the box against Peterson and Derris Guice on early downs and force their rookie QB Dwayne Haskins (who has a pitiful 13.7 QBR) to beat them.

2. Avoid turnovers

Underdogs and long shots like the ‘Skins need to win the turnover battle to have any chance when they’re this over-matched. There is no clear favorite in this particular area of the game. Both teams come into Week 13 with an even takeaway/giveaway ratio. Kyle Allen took care of the ball last week (no picks or fumbles). He’ll need to keep that going and especially avoid throwing picks in the red zone as he has a few too many times this year.

3. Feed No. 22

The Panthers have to be mindful of Christian McCaffrey’s workload, especially now that the playoffs are out of reach. However, until they establish a significant lead, the offense should run through him. Washington ranks No. 21 in rushing defense DVOA and has allowed 137.6 rushing yards per game this year – only four teams have given up more on the ground.

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