The Carolina Panthers enter Week 6 off the heels of another blowout defeat. This time, they took a pretty painful 36-10 loss at the paws of the Chicago Bears.
But with the bad came a little bit of good, perhaps some that head coach Dave Canales and his team can build upon heading into Sunday’s divisional matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
So, let’s take a look back at the All-22 film for that good (and bad) from Week 5 . . .
Jalen Coker should have a bigger role
With veteran receiver Adam Thielen still sidelined, the Panthers’ passing offense is looking for playmakers opposite of their No. 1 option in Diontae Johnson.
In Week 4, it looked like 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette would be the one to step up—as he tallied a career-high 66 yards and his first NFL touchdown. But when he went down with a shoulder injury this past Sunday, a fellow rookie made his own case.
The undrafted Coker contributed in a big way, leading Carolina with 68 receiving yards on only four receptions. He had reliable hands at the catch point, never seemed fazed by traffic around him, showed impressive zone and spatial awareness and made himself available to the quarterback.
Furthermore, Coker offered the ability to create yards after the catch. On his first grab, he showed off ample contact balance and enough acceleration to generate an explosive play.
His route running was good, too. He understands how to attack cornerbacks’ leverage using quick and subtle movements, creating separation before his breaks and at the top of his routes.
Once his outlets were closed, Dalton seemed off the mark with his game. He was late on some throws and inaccurate on others. Dalton failed to step up in the pocket at times, inviting pressure.
This was a down game for the 36-year-old, but there were still glimpses of productivity. A rebound offering should be expected against a Falcons defense that is one of the worst in the league through five games.
Defense also struggles
Rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace filled up the stat sheet in his first career start, posting 15 tackles with 10 solo takedowns. Those numbers, however, can be misleading.
While he effectively utilized his athleticism and physicality at the point of attack, Wallace bit on play fakes often—seemingly doing more thinking than reacting at times.
The 21-year-old needs to do a better job of trusting his reads and playing fast. But even with his struggles, Wallace was still solid and flashed good flow to the ball along with great effort.
In the secondary, tackling in space proved to be a hiccup again. Improper technique led to more big plays and run-after-catch opportunities.
A miscommunication between cornerback Jaycee Horn and safety Nick Scott, where the former was attempting to pass off Bears wideout DJ Moore to the latter, led to a touchdown. This has been an issue, and they must improve their discipline here.
The Panthers’ pass rush was nonexistent against rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Outside linebacker Charles Harris did have a sack on the first three-and-out—but otherwise, there was no pass rush plan from seemingly any of the team’s edge rushers or interior linemen. Their chests are exposed and allow offensive linemen to latch frequently, leading to very little pressure consistently.
More notes
- Rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders had two bad drops during the game and a few missed blocks. While many Panthers fans won’t like the sound of this, getting Ian Thomas back from injured reserve could be a blessing for Sanders—who wouldn’t be facing as much pressure. Thomas will add an important blocking element that could allow Canales to roll out more 12, 13, 21, and 22 personnel sets.
- Despite injuries to the group, Carolina’s offensive line remains a formidable unit. Left tackle Ekwonu had his best game of the year with few mistakes in pass protection. He showed consistency in his sets, moved rushers out of plays and displayed accurate and well-timed punches.
- With right tackle Taylor Moton out this weekend, backup Yosh Nijman is set to take the start this Sunday. Nijman looked impressive, even after an early struggle against Bears edge rusher Darrell Taylor. He improved his first step with each rep and was able to slow the speedy pass rusher down. Nijman has good reactive athleticism to mirror and match displaying a smooth anchor, showcasing the ability to reset his base and hands to counters.
- Also out is center Austin Corbett, who is done for the year after tearing his biceps. Brady Christensen, who took over for Corbett on Sunday, remains a great five-spot reserve lineman. He displayed excellent reactive/functional athleticism and flexibility at center while generating movement at the line of scrimmage. His hand placement is sufficient and he does an adequate job of resetting his base. Christensen did whiff on a block against a slanting interior defensive lineman Andrew Billings early in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, he has good short-area quickness and second-level ability at center.
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As of now, Coker appears to be much more of an effective weapon than his teammate Jonathan Mingo—who played 80 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 4 and 68.3 percent in Week 5. So perhaps it’s time for the Holy Cross standout to cut into that share.
Andy Dalton struggles
Dalton has brought a vertical element to the air that the Panthers offense had been missing for quite some time. And while there were still examples of that on Sunday, the 14th-year veteran turned in his worst outing of the campaign.
The Bears were excellent defensively, playing a lot of Cover 2 and Cover 1 man. The Panthers didn’t see much separation from their playmakers, and even Dalton’s checkdown outlets in the vertical passing game were sealed tight.
Once his outlets were closed, Dalton seemed off the mark with his game. He was late on some throws and inaccurate on others. Dalton failed to step up in the pocket at times, inviting pressure.
This was a down game for the 36-year-old, but there were still glimpses of productivity. A rebound offering should be expected against a Falcons defense that is one of the worst in the league through five games.
Defense also struggles
Rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace filled up the stat sheet in his first career start, posting 15 tackles with 10 solo takedowns. Those numbers, however, can be misleading.
While he effectively utilized his athleticism and physicality at the point of attack, Wallace bit on play fakes often—seemingly doing more thinking than reacting at times.
The 21-year-old needs to do a better job of trusting his reads and playing fast. But even with his struggles, Wallace was still solid and flashed good flow to the ball along with great effort.
In the secondary, tackling in space proved to be a hiccup again. Improper technique led to more big plays and run-after-catch opportunities.
A miscommunication between cornerback Jaycee Horn and safety Nick Scott, where the former was attempting to pass off Bears wideout DJ Moore to the latter, led to a touchdown. This has been an issue, and they must improve their discipline here.
The Panthers’ pass rush was nonexistent against rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Outside linebacker Charles Harris did have a sack on the first three-and-out—but otherwise, there was no pass rush plan from seemingly any of the team’s edge rushers or interior linemen. Their chests are exposed and allow offensive linemen to latch frequently, leading to very little pressure consistently.
More notes
- Rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders had two bad drops during the game and a few missed blocks. While many Panthers fans won’t like the sound of this, getting Ian Thomas back from injured reserve could be a blessing for Sanders—who wouldn’t be facing as much pressure. Thomas will add an important blocking element that could allow Canales to roll out more 12, 13, 21, and 22 personnel sets.
- Despite injuries to the group, Carolina’s offensive line remains a formidable unit. Left tackle Ekwonu had his best game of the year with few mistakes in pass protection. He showed consistency in his sets, moved rushers out of plays and displayed accurate and well-timed punches.
- With right tackle Taylor Moton out this weekend, backup Yosh Nijman is set to take the start this Sunday. Nijman looked impressive, even after an early struggle against Bears edge rusher Darrell Taylor. He improved his first step with each rep and was able to slow the speedy pass rusher down. Nijman has good reactive athleticism to mirror and match displaying a smooth anchor, showcasing the ability to reset his base and hands to counters.
- Also out is center Austin Corbett, who is done for the year after tearing his biceps. Brady Christensen, who took over for Corbett on Sunday, remains a great five-spot reserve lineman. He displayed excellent reactive/functional athleticism and flexibility at center while generating movement at the line of scrimmage. His hand placement is sufficient and he does an adequate job of resetting his base. Christensen did whiff on a block against a slanting interior defensive lineman Andrew Billings early in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, he has good short-area quickness and second-level ability at center.
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