Tag: Curtis Samuel

Panthers injury updates: 3 players ruled out, 2 questionable vs. Colts

With Thompson out, Jermaine Carter Jr. should get the fifth start of his career.

The Panthers have ruled out three players for Sunday’s matchup against the Colts.

Linebacker Shaq Thompson will miss his first game of the season due to an ankle injury, while EDGE Marquis Haynes will also sit out due to a knee issue. Offensive lineman Garrett McGhin (ankle) has also been placed on the injured reserve list and won’t be available.

Two players are listed as questionable.

Defensive tackle Vernon Butler came down with an illness and did not participate in practice either today or Thursday. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel also sat out with a knee issue. On the bright side, interim head coach Perry Fewell said he expects both to play.

With Thompson out, Jermaine Carter Jr. should get the fifth start of his career.

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9 fantasy football sleepers for Week 16

Jameis Winston and Kyler Murray top Touchdown Wire’s list of nine fantasy football sleepers for Week 16.

Arizona rookie Kyler Murray and Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston aren’t quarterbacks that will be starting in the real-life Super Bowl. But we’re talking fantasy football here and that’s a whole different story.

If you’ve got Winston or Murray on your roster, start them. They just might be good enough to win you a championship. That may sound strange about two of the league’s more inconsistent quarterbacks. But it’s the truth.

With everything on the line in Week 16, you have to look for guys on hot streaks and guys with favorable matchups. Winston is on the hottest streak of any quarterback in the league right now and, although Murray has struggle recently, he’s got a favorable matchup against a Seattle defense that hasn’t been good against the past.

Winston and Murray headline Touchdown Wire’s Week 16 fantasy sleepers. Here’s the complete list:

9. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears probably will be playing catch-up ball against Kansas City. That means Cohen, who has emerged as a receiving threat out of the backfield, could put up some serious fantasy numbers. He’s averaged 5.5 catches per game over the last six games.

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Panthers Highlights: Kyle Allen finds Curtis Samuel for clutch touchdown

While they’ve made it interesting, this late surge might be a case of too little, too late.

The connection between Kyle Allen and Curtis Samuel has been one of the most disappointing elements for Carolina’s offense this season. Time and time again, Allen his missed a wide open Samuel on deep balls.

Today, the Panthers abandoned that idea. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner has gotten Samuel more involved as a misdirection rusher and as an intermediate receiving option and it’s worked. Watch Allen scramble in the red zone and find Samuel for his sixth touchdown of the year.

While they’ve made it interesting, this late surge might be a case of too little, too late. Seattle has the ball and leads 30-24 with two and a half minutes to go.

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Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says Panthers have ‘a lot of fire-power’

Michael Bennett once compared the Panthers to an ‘attractive cousin’ for the Seahawks.

Michael Bennett once compared the Panthers to an ‘attractive cousin’ for the Seahawks. It was an interesting choice of words but illustrative of how similar the two teams are and how familiar they became over this last decade. This has mostly been a one-sided affair, though. Since Pete Carroll became head coach in 2010, Seattle has won seven of nine meetings between these non-division rivals.

Carroll’s teams have mostly out-matched Carolina’s from a talent perspective. The 2015 season was the exception to the rule. However, this current Panthers team does have a number of promising pieces, especially on offense. Here’s what Carroll says he sees on film this year, per the team website.

“Well, I see a lot of fire-power. A lot of special players – players with a lot of special dynamics. They run well, in general. They’re playmakers out there on both sides of the ball. So, they look very dangerous scheme wise. They do difficult stuff. Norv (Turner) has always been a really big factor in putting together good offenses.”

Carroll has it right. The combination of Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore in particular has been astoundingly productive. Together, they have totaled more scrimmage yards (3,037) than any RB/WR combo at this point in the season since Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison in 2000.

James and Harrison of course had an all-time great quarterback that was just coming into his prime in Peyton Manning.

These young guns for the Panthers have considerably less help in that department and it’s the main reason the offense has fallen off this year. Moore and Curtis Samuel have suffered the most. Their catchable pass rates are both among the lowest in the league thanks to the accuracy and timing issues of backup QB Kyle Allen.

Carolina has another up-and-coming weapon in tight end Ian Thomas, who posted 57 yards and a touchdown last week against Atlanta with Greg Olsen ruled out. If Thomas can fix his issues with drops, he’ll be another very capable piece for the Panthers.

For those counting at home, that’s four young play-makers – plenty to field a competitive offense if the rest of the equation holds up.

Of course, this team was built to compete around a very different quarterback than Allen. If they are ever able to pair a 100% healthy Cam Newton with McCaffrey, Moore, Samuel, Thomas and especially a strong pass protecting offensive line – this could still be a special group.

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Change feels inevitable after the Panthers’ latest loss to Redskins

No matter how we try to quantify this, the Panthers’ 29-21 loss was nothing short of shameful.

On Sunday afternoon the New York Jets, riding a three-game win streak, fell victim to the previously 0-11 Cincinnati Bengals. Not too long after, the Philadelphia Eagles, with a chance to move into a first-place tie atop the NFC East, were caught with their pants down against the 2-9 Miami Dolphins. Neither game was the most embarrassing defeat of Week 13, though.

That honor actually belongs to the Carolina Panthers, who spotted themselves a 14-0 lead at home and still lost to a two-win team with an interim head coach, a struggling rookie quarterback and fewer total touchdowns than Christian McCaffrey.

Here are some cold hard facts about the loss:

  • The Washington Redskins came into Bank of America Stadium ranked dead last in points per game (13.1). They scored 29.
  • Washington also came in ranked last in rushing touchdowns, having pieced together only two. They bested that 11-game sum with three on the day.
  • Again, they came in ranked last in another offensive category, total yards at 253.4. Today, they gained 248 on rushing alone.

No matter how we try to quantify this, the Panthers’ 29-21 loss was nothing short of shameful, particularly for a head coach and a quarterback both looking for some sort of job security in 2020.

We’ll start with the latter – Kyle Allen – who appeared to have carried over what was an impressive effort in New Orleans early on. Allen and the offense started out hot, taking their first eight plays for 75 yards into the end zone. The swift four-minute drive was capped off on a four-yard touchdown catch for Curtis Samuel, his fifth on the season.

Allen promptly followed that up with another touchdown throw, this time one that found the hands of DJ Moore for his fourth (and easiest) score of 2019. That possession took even less time for the Panthers to assert their dominance, finishing off the 55-yard drive in six plays and just over three minutes.

However, in a performance that eerily mirrored how Allen’s campaign has gone, they hit a steep decline after that. The unit ended up averaging 3.8 yards per play, totaled 65 rushing yards, allowed seven sacks and converted only five third downs in 16 tries.

They also lost the turnover battle thanks in part to an interception and another lost fumble by Allen, who once again didn’t manage the pocket well. He fell far too much in love with the dump-off pass and failed to fully diagnose his options in a handful of frantic moments, particularly on the loss-clinching snap where he missed a wide-open Jarius Wright in the end zone.

As for Ron Rivera, this loss may be that proverbial final nail in the coffin.

Rivera is supposed to be a defensive guru, but time and time again this unit has come up short in the critical the stop-the-run and takeaway departments. That theme was no different in this contest, with the Panthers forcing zero turnovers and Washington’s backfield duo of Derrius Guice and Adrian Peterson combining for 228 yards (9.9 per carry) and three scores.

Rivera, who had so often led his Panther teams to considerable success in the season’s final two months over his previous eight years at the helm, now heads a ship that has lost four straight and is completely sunk in the playoff race.

Change is coming.

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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 vs. Saints: Winners and losers for Week 12

That was a truly heartbreaking way to lose a football game.

That was a truly heartbreaking way to lose a football game. The Carolina Panthers trailed for much of it, falling behind by as much as 13 with just a little over a quarter remaining. They rallied and tied the game late but the New Orleans Saints came out on top.

Let’s take a closer look at the winners and losers for this week.

Winner: QB Kyle Allen

After throwing four interceptions in last weeks appearance, Kyle Allen bounced back in a huge way. He chipped in 256 passing yards and three touchdowns while not throwing a single pick or fumbling once. Allen was efficient as well, completing 23 of 36 passes and averaging 7.1 yards per completion. The Panthers may have came up short today, but Allen did his best to will his team to a victory.

Loser: WR Curtis Samuel

It was another game to forget for Samuel. The 23-year old receiver continued his quiet year with just one catch on the day for nine yards. It’s not like he didn’t get a few chances as Allen threw him the ball four times. One of them bounced right off his chest.

Winner: WR DJ Moore

This was exactly the sort of performance that the Panthers needed. Wide receiver DJ Moore flashed every ounce of the potential that made the team pick him in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. He caught six balls for 126 yards to go along with a career-high two touchdowns.

He also caught an absolute beauty for 52 yards which was really the highlight of the day. Moore has had a fantastic month of November.

Loser: K Joey Slye

The Panthers might have completed their comeback if they’d gotten a better performance from their rookie kicker. Slye missed two extra point attempts and then he missed a short-range field goal at the two-minute warning. All three were makeable kicks.

Winner: RB Christian McCaffrey

The Saints actually did a good job of stopping McCaffrey as a runner. Sure, he scored a rushing touchdown but he only averaged 2.9 yards per carry and gained 64 yards, which is a far cry from his MVP-level production he has been giving all year long. However, McCaffrey did a lot of damage as a receiver.

His 69 yards and one touchdown through the air more than made up for a quiet game on the ground. He wasn’t his typical super productive self, but McCaffrey had himself another solid day.

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Panthers vs. Saints: 3 keys to an upset win Week 12

Beating the Saints in the Superdome is one of the toughest tasks that any NFL team can face.

Beating the Saints in the Superdome is one of the toughest tasks that any NFL team can face. Today, the Panthers will give it a try. The odds are not in their favor, though. With only a couple hours to go before kickoff, New Orleans is favored to win by 10 points.

If they’re going to pull off an improbable upset, here are three keys.

1. Interior pressure on Drew Brees

Brees is unquestionably going to be in the Pro Football Hall of fame some day and the long-standing criticisms about his lack of height are mostly overblown. However, one thing that has borne out over the course of his career is he struggles against pressure up the middle. The Panthers’ interior linemen like Gerald McCoy and Vernon Butler have to get in Brees’ face and force him to make difficult throws. Ron Rivera might also consider throwing in extra A-gap rushers occasionally to keep Brees off balance.

2. Stick with what works defensively

Last week against the Falcons, Rivera reverted back to his traditional four-man fronts, eschewing the 3-4 formations that were ineffective stopping the run. It worked. Atlanta is not a good run team but they were held to only two yards per carry. Rivera should go back to the well and see if his 4-3 looks can slow down Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray. If not, he needs to continue making adjustments to see what works against a Saints team that is more run-heavy this year than traditionally with Brees under center.

3. The Kyle Allen and Curtis Samuel connection

Samuel’s production this season has fallen short of expectations. Heading into Week 12, he’s caught just 38 of 75 targets, totaling 467 yards and four touchdowns. Part of the problem has been Allen’s inaccuracy on deep balls. He has routinely underthrown, overthrown or just plain missed Samuel on longer-developing routes. For what it’s worth, Allen did hit Samuel for a 53-yard touchdown last year against the Saints. Another one would be huge.

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Watch: Curtis Samuel’s fantasy football prospects vs. Falcons

Watch ESPN discuss Samuel’s fantasy prospects for this week.

In addition to being a critical division matchup, Sunday’s game between the Panthers and the Falcons has a lot of interesting fantasy football angles to consider. One of them is the outlook for Curtis Samuel, who is getting hot lately and has caught three touchdowns in his last four games. Watch ESPN discuss Samuel’s fantasy prospects for this week.

Samuel has been a legitimate fantasy sleeper several times this season. Whether or not he’s worth a start will likely depend on how well Kyle Allen can throw at him on deep passes. This year, Samuel has caught just half (34 of 68) of his targets, but in his defense many of those balls have been off-target by Allen.

While we like Samuel against Atlanta’s depleted secondary, Carolina’s other young gun at wide receiver is probably a better play.

Over the last two games, D.J. Moore has caught fire. He’s been targeted by Allen 21 times, catching 16 of them and producing 221 yards. Meanwhile, Samuel has had just 14 total targets. The downside with Moore is he doesn’t get much work in the red zone and is unlikely to score touchdowns – he has just three in his career. Samuel has 12.

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