Tag: Donte Jackson

What we learned from Panthers’ 2021 exit interviews

More than a handful of Panthers hit the podium to put a bow on the 2021 season, including a very introspective Cam Newton.

What type of bow can one really put on the Carolina Panthers’ tumultuous 2021 season? Well, probably not a pretty one considering their numerous injuries, a 2-12 finish and just an overall feel of volatility throughout much of the process.

But a handful of players tried on Monday. Here are the best bits from the Panthers’ exit interviews this morning.

Panthers place CB Donte Jackson on IR

The Panthers lost another key starter for the rest of 2021 in CB Donte Jackson.

The Carolina Panthers are just adding dirt atop their 2021 grave.

On Tuesday, less than 24 hours after running back Christian McCaffrey had his campaign come to an end, the team announced they’ve placed cornerback Donte Jackson on the injured reserve as well. This, too, is another season-ending move for a key Carolina starter.

Jackson sustained a groin injury in the Week 12 loss to the Miami Dolphins. He closes the book on the year with 61 combined tackles and a pair of interceptions over his 12 games.

Without Jackson and, likely, first-round pick Jaycee Horn for the rest of the way out—the defense may be exiting 2021 rostering a completely different duo atop their depth chart at the cornerback position. Stephon Gilmore, A.J. Bouye, Keith Taylor Jr., CJ Henderson, Myles Hartsfield and Rashaan Melvin now remain.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, what was a hopeful trip down to South Beach ended up being a last hoorah of sorts for their current playoff hopes. And this could’ve been the last hoorah for Jackson in Carolina, who is an unrestricted free agent this spring.

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One former teammate is ‘very impressed’ with Taylor Heinicke

One Carolina player was “very impressed” with Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

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Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke had the best game of his career in Sunday’s Week 11 win over the Carolina Panthers. For Heinicke, it was the second straight week of this being the best game of his career.

In Washington’s 27-21 win over the Panthers, Heinicke completed 16 of 22 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. A simple glance at the box score will not give Heinicke’s performance the praise it deserves.

Heinicke made multiple impressive throws on Sunday, including all three touchdown passes. He hit Terry McLaurin for one completion in the first quarter, allowing McLaurin to pick up yards after the catch, something he struggled with earlier in the season.

And never forget that wild play on fourth-and-3, where Heinicke rolled to his left and avoided the sack by finding his tight end, John Bates, for the first down.

Carolina cornerback Donte Jackson — a teammate of Heinicke’s in 2018 with the Panthers — was certainly impressed.

“Oh man, one thing about Taylor Heinicke, man, is you can always count on him to be a fighter,” Jackson said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

“Be a competitor. And just be a guy who plays to win. It don’t matter if he has to hand it off 100 times or throw it 100 times. He is just a guy who plays to win it. He really competed today, and it was nice. I was very impressed.”

When your opponent offers that type of praise, you’re earning more respect leaguewide. Remember, we all know how Heinicke’s teammates feel about him.

Next up for Heinicke is the prime-time stage. Washington hosts the Seattle Seahawks and another superstar quarterback in Russell Wilson on Monday Night Football.

Panthers PFF grades: Best and worst from Week 11 vs. Washington

Cam Newton was back amongst the top of PFF grades for the Panthers in Week 11. Who joined him?

One of the most memorable days in Carolina Panthers franchise history went down at Bank of America Stadium in Week 11. That, however, didn’t necessarily mean the team played one of its cleanest games ever.

Here’s the two cents over from Pro Football Focus on the best and worst performances in the Panthers’ 27-21 loss to the Washington Football Team.

Studs and duds from the Panthers’ 27-21 loss to Washington

Cam Newton was most definitely one of the Panthers’s studs in his return home on Sunday.

Playing spoiler to Cam Newton’s return to Charlotte, the Washington Football Team defeated the Carolina Panthers, 27-21. Defensive breakdowns allowed Ron Rivera’s team to have an offensive field day as they vie for a playoff bid.

Here are our studs and duds from Sunday’s game.

Stud: QB Cam Newton

Newton’s first start in his return to Carolina may have ended in a loss, but the team’s overall performance wasn’t his fault. The iconic quarterback led the Panthers all the way downfield on their first possession of the game, capping off a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore.

Then, in the second quarter, Newton took a quick 70-yard drive into the end zone with a 24-yard run. Immediately after, the energetic signal caller celebrated on the Panthers logo, emphatically marking Superman’s return to the Queen City. Newton’s final touchdown of the day came on a beautiful, 27-yard floater to Christian McCaffrey, who tied the score at 21 in the fourth quarter.

Overall, Newton recorded 189 passing yards on a 78 percent completion rate along with 46 rushing yards on 10 carries. He kept a clean sheet, too, totaling those three combined touchdowns to zero turnovers.

Dud: CB Donte Jackson

While the entirety of Carolina’s secondary allowed Washington quarterback Heinicke one of his best games as a starter, Jackson might have helped him the most. Jackson gave up a couple of chunk plays to wideout Terry McLaurin early in the game, finding almost no success in one-on-one coverage. Later, Jackson was embarrassed by DeAndre Carter on a four-yard touchdown score, which gave Washington a 21-14 lead in the third quarter.

Despite Jackson’s inability to guard him, the coaching staff continued to place a single cornerback on McLaurin (103 receiving yards) with little help. Also notable is that Stephon Gilmore (finger) continued to play on a limited snap count despite not being listed on the injury report ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

Stud: RB Christian McCaffrey

The one thing that is clear about the Panthers’ offense is that it runs through McCaffrey. The star running back put together another solid performance Sunday, meaningfully contributing in the rushing and receiving game.

Today, that versatility helped him break multiple records: passing tight end Greg Olsen for the fifth-most scrimmage yards in franchise history and becoming the fastest player in NFL history to reach 3,000 receiving yards and 3,000 rushing yards.McCaffrey broke those records through 119 yards from scrimmage today—59 rushing and 60 receiving.

Dud: Left tackle consistency

The Panthers have gone through eight offensive line combinations through 11 games this season. Dennis Daley, the latest player to fill the left tackle position, left the game in the first quarter with a glute injury. That forced rookie Brady Christensen to take his place blocking Newton’s blindside.

The line gave up five quarterback hits and a sack throughout the afternoon. Beyond the numbers, though, consistency along the line is crucial for a quarterback to familiarize themself with a new system.

Stud: DE Haason Reddick

Reddick continues to make his case as the bargain of the offseason. The fifth-year defensive end made it to double-digit sacks for the Panthers today, as he brought his season total to 10.5.

Like McCaffrey, Reddick also made franchise history. He became just the third Panthers player ever to record double-digit sacks in their first season with the team, following Kevin Greene’s 14.5 sacks in 1996 and Julius Peppers’ 12.0 sacks as a rookie in 2002.

Dud: Panthers’ third-down offense

If the Panthers want to win games, they need to start by extending drives into scoring territory. Sunday, though, they failed to extend many of their possessions beyond third down.

The team went zero-for-four on third down conversions in the first half and finished the game at a two-of-nine clip. Carolina is now 18-for-75 on third down in their losses and 34-for-72 in their wins.

Stud: DE Morgan Fox

Fox and Reddick were two of the few bright spots in an otherwise poor defensive performancy.

With just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter and Washington driving deep into Carolina territory, Fox forced running back Antonio Gibson into fumble. Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu recovered the loose ball at the Carolina 10-yard line, preventing Washington from lighting up the scoreboard.

Fox, who recovered a fumble last week, now has two consecutive games with a fumble forced or recovered. Overall, he also pitched in four total tackles with one coming for a loss.

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Panthers celebrate big Week 10 rout of Cardinals

High fives all around for the Panthers in their Week 10 upset victory over the Cardinals!

There was much to celebrate for the Carolina Panthers this Sunday. Almost too much.

We can, of course, start with the exciting return of Cam Newton. Speaking of Cam, we can also look to his pair of thrilling touchdowns to start the game.

We can also praise the lockdown performance from Haason Reddick and the rest of the defense. And we can give Christian McCaffrey a nod for, once again, carrying the load on offense in another all-out, all-around showing.

So, whichever way you as fans choose to celebrate it, do you. Here’s how the Panthers did them following the shocking 34-10 win over the heavily-favored Arizona Cardinals.

Rookie Jaycee Horn got it started from afar—giving props to Reddick, Newton and fellow cornerback Donte Jackson.

Jackson, in turn, shouted out the entire crew.

Reddick gave himself props, too. So would you if you chalked up 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits against your former team.

Linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. saw shades of Michael Vick in P.J. Walker, who helped pace the Panthers offense by completing 22 of his 29 attempts. He also saw Shaq Thompson’s impressive day up close.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady spiced up his routine.

And it’s good to see Cam still has his . . .

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Behind enemy lines: Vikings vs. Panthers

Vikings Wire previewed the Week 6 matchup with Panthers Wire.

The Vikings and Panthers are entering a crucial matchup.

Minnesota has won two of its last three games, while Carolina is trying to bounce back after two consecutive losses.

The Vikings winning would put the team in a position to salvage their season. The Panthers winning could make people around the league think that Carolina is the real deal.

We talked with Panthers Wire’s Managing Editor, Anthony Rizzuti, to preview the Week 6 game:

Panthers vs. Vikings: 4 key matchups to watch in Week 6

There will be quite a few LSU Tigers in the building when the Panthers host the Vikings. That contingent includes CB Donte Jackson and WR Justin Jefferson, who should see plenty of one another in Week 6.

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The Carolina Panthers may be facing a turning point already here in Week 6.

With so many less-than-optimal signs suddenly popping up—a regressed performance from their quarterback, a still-on-the-mend superstar, and an offensive line still searching for answers—a third straight loss on Sunday would send the once 3-0 hopefuls to .500.

For that not to happen, the Panthers must come out on the better side of these four key matchups with the Minnesota Vikings.

4 takeaways from the Panthers’ 21-18 loss to Eagles

The Panthers’ hair-pulling Week 5 loss to the Eagles gave us a few painful lessons moving forward.

In an alternate universe, we’d be preparing to map out four takeaways from an easy Week 5 win for the Carolina Panthers. Heck, even a slightly altered, pretty normal universe would’ve given us that.

But, apparently, we’re not living in either one of those.

So here are four takeaways from a pitiful defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Carolina Panthers vs. Philadelphia Eagles game recap: Everything we know

The Panthers really should’ve finished off the visiting Eagles in Week 5. But it really didn’t turn out that way.

Behind a largely dominant defensive stand throughout the afternoon, the Carolina Panthers should’ve been well on their way to their fourth win of the 2021 season. (Note that we said “should’ve.”)

So, yeah, it didn’t exactly go that way. Here’s everything you need to know about the Panthers’ deflating Week 5 showing against the Philadelphia Eagles.