The Carolina Panthers were expected to have a high-powered offense in 2019 and Cam Newton was looking healthy. Now, the Panthers are 0-2 and are coming off an embarrassing loss on Thursday night to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Can they turn things around?
Heading into the 2019 season, the Carolina Panthers were feeling very good about themselves. The offensive line finally looked stable. Daryl Williams was back on a one-year, “prove it” deal and was set to man the left tackle position. Greg Van Roten was the lone constant on the 2018 offensive line returning. Matt Paradis was the big free-agent signing at the center position after the retirement of Ryan Kalil (or so we thought before he returned to the league and signed with the Jets). Trai Turner is a long-standing veteran for the Panthers at right guard and Taylor Moton is the young upstart at right tackle.
The Panthers had young offensive weapons ready for their breakouts in wide receivers D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel. Jarius Wright was back and their reliable possession receiver and Chris Hogan was brought in as a free agent.
Greg Olsen was healthy and Ian Thomas formed a solid tight end group and Christian McCaffrey is Christian McCaffrey. And oh yeah, they have that No. 1 at quarterback, Cam Newton, who looked completely healthy in training camp.
Now all of a sudden, the Panthers have crumbled out of the gate and are 0-2 after a tough home loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 and an embarrassing loss in Week 2 on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What happened and can the season be saved?
Carolina Panthers Preseason
Let’s go back to the preseason. The Panthers hardly played their starters up until the third preseason game against the New England Patriots, which is typically the regular-season dress rehearsal. Unfortunately, Newton did not last long in that game. A sack by Danny Shelton rolled up Newton’s ankle and his day was done after just three series.
Now, this was a situation where Newton could have still played if this were a regular-season game. Carolina was just being cautious with their prized possession. But it cost Newton valuable game action that, looking back now, he very well could have used. Those were the only series Newton played in all preseason.
Week 1 vs. Rams
Fast forward to Week 1 and the Panthers have a potential statement game right out of the gate against the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams. And disaster strikes very early for the Panthers. D.J. Moore fumbles on the opening drive. The Rams didn’t score off of that turnover. In fact, the Panthers forced the Rams to punt on each of their next two possession. But it’s still a drive the Panthers would love to have back. Especially when Joey Slye would miss a 53-yard field goal that would have given Carolina an early 3-0 lead.
In total, the Panthers offense was a mess in the first half. They punted three times and fumbled twice.
The offense woke up in the second half with two touchdowns and a field goal on their first three possessions. But the defense couldn’t make enough stops and the Panthers lost, 30-27. Newton went 25-of-38 for 239 yards and an interception while also losing a fumble. It wasn’t a terrible game, but something seemed off, especially when he rushed just three times for negative-2 yards.
Week 2 vs. Buccaneers
Then we get to Thursday night to kick off Week 2 against the Buccaneers. Carolina may have been 0-1, but they’re feeling good with Tampa Bay traveling on a short week and not looking very impressive against the San Francisco 49ers. That changed pretty quickly.
Tampa Bay and Carolina were playing a low-scoring game and it certainly wasn’t because of excellent defense. Newton and Jameis Winston struggled. The difference was that Winston struggled less than Newton. Winston at least had Chris Godwin (eight catches, 121 yards, one touchdown) to bail him out.
Carolina could not run the ball to save their lives. After rushing for 128 yards against the Rams, Christian McCaffrey could only manage a mere 37 yards on 16 carries. Carolina, as a team, rushed for 39 yards on 19 attempts. That includes a whopping zero yards on two attempts for one Cam Newton, bringing his season total to negative-2 yards on five carries. He also lost his second fumble of the season.
Let’s also not forget the fact that Carolina faced a number of short-yard situations, including on fourth down, and decided not to run Newton up the gut. None more highlighted now than the fourth-and-two inside the five, where the Panthers tried their own version of “Philly Special”, motioning Newton out to the wing, just like Nick Foles did. Nobody bought it. McCaffrey took the direct snap, raced to the sideline and was stopped short. Tampa Bay had won the game, 20-14.
Newton threw for 333 yards, but the headline is he threw 51 times and only completed 25 passes. He also watched his offensive line get obliterated, including Daryl Williams getting owned by Shaquil Barrett, who sacked Newton three times.
The bigger headline is what is Newton’s health. Is his shoulder or foot bothering him more than the team is letting on? Or is Cam Newton truly breaking down as a starting quarterback? Are all the years of big hits finally taking their toll on Newton?
It’s very likely they are. There has to be a reason Newton isn’t running the ball more than he has been. Sure, his runs so far have not looked great at all. But on fourth-and-short, he’s still capable of at least getting the first down. He didn’t even have the ball in his hands on the game-deciding play, even though Ron Rivera claims the injuries had no effect on the play call. Something has to be up.
Can the Carolina Panthers be saved?
So after all that, can this season be saved? Well, the Panthers do have a shot to score their first victory of the season next week at Arizona against the also-winless Cardinals. Then after a trip to Houston, which can go either way with the Texans’ offensive line, the Panthers host the fighting Gardner Minshews. That’s followed by the rematch with the Buccaneers in London in Week 6. If Carolina can figure out their offense and Newton can somehow get right, the Panthers can possibly get to 3-3, maybe even 4-2 if they steal the Houston, heading into their bye. But 3-3 is more realistic.
But if they do get to 3-3, they’ll rest up during their bye and get ready for what will be a tough ten-game stretch, starting at San Francisco, who is off to a 2-0 start. The defense will undoubtedly be tested in that stretch. The quarterbacks they’ll face include Jimmy Garoppolo, Marcus Mariota, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan twice, Drew Brees twice (depending on the severity of his thumb injury), Russell Wilson and Jacoby Brissett. The Redskins are tough to figure out. Will it be Case Keenum or will it be Dwayne Haskins? The team is already 0-2 and things could be going south soon.
In any event, that is a tough stretch and if Carolina’s defense doesn’t step up, it’s going to be another long second half for the Panthers.
So is the season over at 0-2? Not quite. But it better turn around fast.