When your QB has 20 incompletions but still receives the highest grade on the offense, well you know it was bad day for the offense:
Offense:
- Cam Newton (+3.5) earned the highest grade on the Carolina offense. While he threw 23 incomplete passes, it’s important to note that four were dropped, three were thrown away, and one was batted down.
- Mike Remmers (-6.8) struggled mightily; he allowed seven hurries and three sacks.
- Michael Oher (-1.8) was ineffective in the run game, but held up well enough in pass protection. He allowed one sack and two hurries.
- Trai Turner (+1.6) was the only starter on the line to grade positively. He allowed two hurries.
- Greg Olsen (-2.0) graded negatively as a receiver for the first time all season. He was targeted seven times and caught four passes for 41 yards.
The Remmers collapse was an easy forecast but I really thought the rest of the unit would play better. Same with Olsen. It's already been said but it can;t be emphasized enough. The Broncos exposed our biggest weaknesses (OT, WR) while minimizing our strengths (TE, RB). Consequently it required Newton to be perfect and he was far from it.
Defense:
- Kony Ealy (+5.0) played by far the best game of his career (his previous high was +1.5 against Arizona in the NFC Championship game). Interestingly, he only played 23 of 60 defensive snaps.
- Josh Norman (+2.1) was outstanding. Versus Demaryius Thomas, he was targeted three times and allowed none to be completed while breaking up two of the throws.
- Kawann Short (+0.5) was not as disruptive as usual. He graded negatively as a pass rusher and only pressured Manning once.
- Charles Johnson (+2.7) graded well against the run and pass. He made four stops, a season high.
- Robert McClain (+1.0) was targeted five times in coverage and allowed four receptions (all vs. Emmanuel Sanders) for 70 yards, but played a solid overall game as he made a pass defense and a stop.
The defense took advantage of the Bronco offense' decision to focus on protection up the middle, hence Ealy was one on one and making plays. Same with CJ. I mean, the defense only gave up 6 points on drives that didn't begin in their own territory while also preventing points on 2 other drives into Panther territory by causing a Bronco turnover. They certainly played well enough to win.
Special Teams:
- Teddy Williams (-2.0) made a miscue on the Jordan Norwood punt return and had a special teams penalty.
- Graham Gano (-3.1) had his worst game of the season. In addition to the missed field goal, two of his three kickoffs were returned.
Again, Special Teams has been a weakness all season and it came back to haunt us at the worst possible moment. IMO the Panthers need to cut bait with Teddy Williams. For every good play he makes he in turns makes 2 bone-headed plays, like failing to tackle a PR who has NOT called for a fair catch. Hell it would have been much better if he just ran into the PR. Instead they go for 60 yards and costs us 3 points.
I have no words for why Gano suddenly couldn't reach the end zone on his kicks, unless it was by design. I can't imagine why we would suddenly want that with a SB championship on the line.
Signature Stats:
- On 90 post-season pass rush snaps, Von Miller pressured the QB 23 times (6 sacks, 1 hit, and 16 hurries). Similarly, on 103 pass rush attempts, DeMarcus Ware earned 22 pressures (4 sacks, 8 hits, and 10 hurries).
- In the Super Bowl, Cam Newton was pressured on 46.9% of drop backs; in all other games, he was pressured on 34.5% of drop backs.
Keeping Von Miller out of the backfield was easily the most important thing for the offense than anybody could have told you yet it seemed we had no plan other than to hope Mike Remmers could rise to the occasion. I put that on Mike Shula's game planning or lack thereof. I don't necessarily have an answer but it seems something could have been done.
So what are your thoughts?