Carolina Panthers: Offensive woes halt momentum in loss to Bears
The Carolina Panthers continued to struggle when the ball is in their hands, which cost them their third loss of the season on Sunday against the Bears.
Mistakes and offensive struggles continue to be the story behind the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers dropped to 4-3 after a 17-3 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bears. Carolina’s defense played well throughout the game, but it was the offense that was unable to put points on the board. This trend continues to impact the Panthers and keeps them from taking control of the NFC South.
Offensively, the problems mounted for the Panthers. Cam Newton completed 21-of-34 passes for 211 yards, but also threw two interceptions. Newton has thrown at least one interception in five of the seven games this season, continuing a troubling trend that’s followed him throughout his career. He is the clear leader of this offense and expectations fall directly on his shoulders. There’s only so much room that will be allowed for this continued play, especially with the weapons that surround Newton on this offense.
What’s unfortunate is that these issues continue when Newton is having his best season from a completion percentage standpoint. The last few seasons, Newton has spoken openly about the desire to complete more than 60 percent of his passes, a feat he’s only done twice in his career. Currently, he’s at 64.5 percent, which would be a career high for the former Auburn quarterback.
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One of the main woes for this Panthers offense is the offensive line. 2017 is yet another year where Carolina continues to fall short with the front line. Newton was sacked five times in this game, bringing the total up to 17 sacks for this season and an average of more than twice per game.
The running game is also suffering due to Carolina’s inability to move opposing defensive lines. Even though the team earned 108 yards on the ground against the Bears, one of the top ranked defenses in the league, they couldn’t get the close yards to extend the opportunity to win the game.
In regards to extending the game, Carolina converted only 6-of-15 third-down chances, another area where the team has struggled throughout the year. Carolina averaged 4.2 yards per play, but frequently is unable to get keep the momentum moving.
In many ways, the Panthers offense continues to be a mirror image of the defense. Even without Luke Kuechly, the Bears were held to only 153 total yards, five first downs and went 2-of-11 on third down conversions. The defense performs well enough to keep opposing offenses in check, but the Panthers continue to falter when the ball is in their hands.
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At 4-3, it’s too early to give up on the Panthers postseason chances. Carolina is sitting in third position in the NFC South, but they’ve only played one game within the division. That is where the real concern comes into play. The NFC South is a historically tough division and if the Panthers are going to re-establish themselves in a point of control the offense has to turn around the mistake-filled moments that have cost the team to date.