In another tale of two halves, the Panthers fell to 3-7 on the season after suffering a devastating 46-23 defeat to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
Here are our winners and losers from today’s game.
Winner: WR D.J. Moore
The Panthers have the most productive 1-2-3 combination at wide receiver in the NFL, but today it was D.J. Moore’s time to shine. Moore made some chunk plays against Tampa’s defense, turning four catches into 96 yards and a touchdown.
Loser: Third quarter issues (again)
It was all going well… until it wasn’t. In just a couple of minutes in the third quarter, the Bucs got a 98-yard rushing touchdown and an interception by Jason Pierre-Paul that led to a 21-yard field goal. Over the full 15 minutes, Carolina could only muster 34 total yards, go 0/2 on third-down and put up zero points on the scoreboard. Through 10 games, the Panthers are averaging just 2.4 third-quarter points.
Winner: LB Shaq Thompson
Thompson was one of a few bright spots in an overall embarrassing defensive performance by Carolina. He kicked things off with a ‘peanut punch’ forced fumble on Tampa’s first drive of the game, setting the Panthers up to take a 7-0 lead with Bridgewater’s touchdown pass to tight end Colin Thompson. By the end of the game, Thompson totaled seven tackles— two of which were for a loss— and one quarterback hit.
Loser: FS Tre Boston
Boston has seen his fair share of struggles this season already, but today’s game was an exceptionally bad performance from the veteran defensive back. The worst play for Boston came in the third, when he took a poor angle on a crucial missed tackle that was the team’s last chance to prevent Ronald Jones’ 98-yard touchdown run.
Winner: Special teams unit
Cannon got the start at kick returner today and it was a good choice. At the time Carolina needed it the most, Cannon broke away for a 98-yard kick return that led to a Bridgewater touchdown. The Panthers’ special teams came through as a whole today too, with Joey Slye perfect on field goals and extra points, Joseph Charlton averaging 54.3 yards per punt and the coverage unit preventing any big Tampa Bay returns.
Loser: Third-down defense
It feels like we noted the same thing last week, but when facing an offense as good as Tampa Bay’s, the defense cannot allow them to convert nearly every third-down situation. Carolina struggled defending third-down all game, allowing the Bucs to convert 10/16 opportunities.
Loser: DB Jeremy Chinn
The team’s most impressive rookie defender got a heavy dose of tight ends today. Chinn simply got beat on the early touchdown to Cameron Brate, then he failed to bring down legendary TE Rob Gronkowski on a 44-yard catch. Chinn will need to improve on his performance against tight ends when the Panthers face second-year stud T.J. Hockenson and the Detroit Lions next Sunday.
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