After starting out the season as one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers have been one of the coldest teams over the past two weeks.
The Panthers have dropped two straight games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers, looking flat in the process and being vastly outplayed. They unexpectedly lost 43-13 in a home game against the Buccaneers in which they were clearly favored, allowing 258 rushing yards in the process while Bryce Young struggled on his way to one of his worst showings of the season while posting a 51.9 passer rating.
They followed that up with another flat showing in a 27-19 loss to the Packers. Young posted just a 68.0 passer rating while Packers quarterback Jordan Love put up a three touchdown effort with a 106.6 passer rating.
Panthers Change Up Defensive Coordinators Leading Into Broncos Game
Former quarterback Jake Delhomme, one of the greatest players in franchise history, said the biggest issue has been the defense and the lack of protection for Young. It’s the reason why the Panthers made a made change in defensive coordinators, going from Ejiro Evero to Todd Wash.
Delhomme — while speaking on behalf of Gambling.com — didn’t hold back on the Panthers’ weaknesses.
“Listen, we got to address it, we’ll have a new defensive coordinator when we line up this Sunday,” said Delhomme in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “Ejiro Evero was let go the day after the Thursday night game last week against Green Bay, and Todd Wash, defensive line coach, who does have prior NFL experience, is going to be named the new DC, so hopefully that makes Denver not exactly sure what we’re gonna do this week when Carolina plays them. So that’s something that I’m anxious to see what new wrinkles that we might have with Coach Wash.
“But offensively, we’ve had some injuries, and to say that Bryce Young didn’t have much time the last two times we played — to be very honest, I’m trying to kind of massage this answer as best as possible — but really and truly, he could barely set his feet against Green Bay the other night, and it’s just one thing that that’s difficult in this league. We’ve had some injuries along the offensive line, and Chuba Hubbard has been kind of our most consistent player, to be quite honest all season long. Bryce was playing extremely well, and I still think he will continue to play well. But the last couple of weeks via Tampa, and then again in Green Bay, we struggled giving him time to actually set his feet in the pocket and make some things happen.”
Panthers Have Been Terrible at Protecting Bryce Young
The Panthers have been one of the worst teams at protecting their franchise quarterback, ranking in the bottom three of the league as far as sacks allowed. It has undeniably had a major impact on not only his performance, but the production of the offensive unit as a whole. Young has posted two of his lowest passer ratings in the past couple of weeks and the Panthers have averaged just 16.0 points per game after averaging 29.2 points per game over their first five games.
The Panthers face arguably the stiffest test of the season when they take on the red-hot 6-2 Denver Broncos. The Broncos rank 11th on defense and they rank fourth in the NFL in sacks. The game will be a big litmus test when it comes to where Carolina exactly ranks among playoff contenders, especially with their change at defensive coordinator.
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