In Week 7 the rebuilding Panthers delivered the NFL’s most impressive upset win of the week. Carolina traded Christian McCaffrey in the days leading up to the game as interim head coach Steve Wilks prepared the team for their second game without former coach Matt Rhule. Despite these major upheavals, and being forced to once again start PJ Walker at quarterback, the Carolina Panthers soundly defeated Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an impressive 21-3 victory to move to 2-5 on the season.
Here are the key stats that fueled the win:
3 points - Carolina’s defense was brilliant all day and surrendered just three points against Tom Brady and the Bucs offense. Here are the results of Tampa Bay’s first eight drives: punt, punt, punt, punt, end of half, punt, downs, punt. The Panthers did this despite missing two key starters in Jaycee Horn and Matt Ioannidis. Sure, the Bucs helped the Panthers out when Mike Evans inexplicably dropped a wide-open touchdown, but that was the only real opportunity Carolina’s defense gave up in an impressive showing.
0 yards - The biggest play of the game from the Panthers defense happened with 6:24 left in the third quarter. The Panthers held a tenuous 7-0 lead and the Bucs had the ball facing a fourth-and-1 from the Carolina 25. Instead of attempting a field goal to put points on the board, the Bucs went for it. CJ Henderson and Cory Littleton combined to stuff Leonard Fournette at the line of scrimmage for a crucial turnover on downs.
3.1 YPC - Continuing to heap praise on the Panthers defense, they allowed just 3.1 yards per carry to Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White. The Bucs running backs combined for 14 carries and just 43 yards on the ground. Donte Jackson had 10 tackles. Shaq Thompson and Myles Hartsfield had seven tackles each. Brian Burns had five tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss, while Derrick Brown continued his stellar play with four tackles of his own. While the Panthers are in a full-on rebuild mode with the coaching staff and the offense, the defense is built for long-term success.
3 punts - Each of the Panthers first three possessions resulted in conservative but wise punts from interim coach Steve Wilks. On the Panthers first possession he faced fourth-and-1 from Carolina’s own 19 yard line and called out the punt team. On the second possession he punted facing fourth-and-1 from the Carolina 29. The Panthers third possession resulted in an 11-play drive that stalled out at the Tampa Bay 36 and Wilks punted instead of attempting a 53-yard field goal. It was a conservative approach during a game where it would have been justifiable to take some big risks adopting a “what have we go to lose?” mentality, but Wilks smartly relied on his defense to do its job, and the strategy worked.
181 yards - D’Onta Foreman rushed 15 times for 118 yards (7.9 YPC) and Chuba Hubbard had nine carries for 63 yards (7.0 YPC) and a touchdown. The combined 181 yards from Carolina’s running backs not named Christian McCaffrey was unexpected, baffling, and wonderful. The two plays that broke the game open were Foreman’s explosive 60-yard run late in the third quarter which set up a 17-yard Chuba Hubbard touchdown run on the next play to put Carolina up 14-0. Credit to the two of them and a really improved Carolina offensive line for an outstanding performance. The Panthers weren’t supposed to be able to run the ball after trading CMC, and then they went out and did this. Football is weird.
The overall summary
What a fun win and enjoyable viewing experience for us Panthers fans! After last week’s debacle in an almost unwatchable 24-10 loss to the Rams, I didn’t expect to use the words “fun” and “enjoyable” very often in these columns. Credit to Steve Wilks and a group of proud professionals who make up the Panthers roster for coming out and making a statement against Tom Brady and a bitter NFC South rival.
I’ve stated many times over the years that I despise tanking. I think the football gods should vengefully punish teams that blatantly tank. My personal view is losing begets more losing. The loser mentality spreads through the entire organization like a virus. Expectations get lowered. Mediocrity becomes acceptable. “Rebuilds” then turn into multi-year stretches of ineptitude and futility.
Yes, losing more games this year to potentially get the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick can sometimes land Cam Newton or Joe Burrow in the draft, but it can also yield Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, Mitch Trubisky, or Baker Mayfield. My view is losing breeds a losing culture while competing and winning builds a winning culture. Even if the Panthers compete hard and lose this year, that’s fine. It shows heart and solidifies the foundation upon which the team can build in 2023. But when the Panthers do win, let’s celebrate it instead of lamenting what each victory might mean to the 2023 draft.
I want Carolina to rebuild quickly, and I think they can provided they somehow nail down the quarterback spot in 2023. The offensive line looks promising and ESPN ranked them 13th in Run Block Win Rate and 16th in Pass Block Win Rate before their impressive showing against the Bucs. The Panthers defense is young, talented, and could be really good over the next two years, especially if the Panthers offense can start sustaining longer drives and flipping field position.
This was a great win for the Panthers. Up next is a big NFC South showdown on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
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