The Carolina Panthers were unable to compete on both sides of the ball which led to the 31-21 defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.
The Carolina Panthers took a tough loss to the New Orleans Saints, allowing their rivals to take sole possession of the top spot in the NFC South. The 31-21 defeat created a number of questions for the Panthers, who were building momentum on the back of four-straight wins. Looking back at this game, the areas of concern stand out.
Offensively, Carolina struggled to get rolling in this game. Even though they scored 21 points, much of the offense was limited in its production on Sunday. Playing from behind isn’t a situation that favors the Panthers. While they have a very strong offense on paper, the team consistently struggles to go shot for shot with some of the best offenses in the league, such as the Saints.
Drew Brees and company got into the end zone first and never looked back. With eight wins this season, the Panthers have yet to need to come from behind to find a win. In fact, it’s the opponents who are usually pushing the Panthers defense to hold onto late game leads. The Saints put Carolina in the exact opposite situation and both sides of the ball were unable to stop the downward spiral.
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The Panthers offense was contained by the Saints defense that is a middle of the pack from a statistical standpoint in 2017. Carolina had only eight first downs to the 12 by New Orleans and they were also only 3 of 10 on third-down conversions. The 279 total yards is the third lowest output for the Panthers this season; ahead of only the games against the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Perhaps the biggest issue is the fact that the 400 yards gained by the Saints is the highest amount of yards allowed by the Panthers defense this year. The Saints gained 252 yards in the air and 148 yards on the ground; completely destroying their averages for the season. This is a major concern for the Panthers if they are going to make a run in the post-season and it’s a trend that has haunted the organization for the last few seasons. The Panthers were unable to get the key stops to help the offense get the momentum needed to come from behind.
Carolina faced a dual attack on both sides of the ball that forced them into a difficult situation to play. At 8-4 the Panthers are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but they need to figure out a way to correct the issues the Saints laid bare. The Panthers face the best defense in the league on Sunday, as they head to Minnesota to face off against the Vikings.
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The Atlanta Falcons are hot on their heels in the playoff race, especially after topping New Orleans on Thursday. This season has already been a major improvement over the 2016 campaign. However, if the Panthers are to return to the post season both sides of the ball cannot allow themselves to play as they did against the Saints.