I think I stopped breathing the last 5 minutes of the game. I honestly thought the Panthers would win this game, and they nearly did! Nearly is the important keyword, as they did not, obviously. We made a lot of adjustments at halftime and we looked like a different team in the second half. In any case, here are the 10 things I liked, and the 10 things I didn’t.
10 things I liked:
- FB Andy “Hammerhead” Janovich reminded me of why I love fullbacks
- ILB Todd Davis led the team with 7 tackles
- QB Trevor Siemian had great ball distribution. 4 different players received at least 4 passes
- C Matt Paradis played a perfect game, getting one of the highest center ratings on Pro Football Focus (89.5)
- The offensive line in rush blocking was very good against one of the best defensive lines in the NFL
- Even though he fumbled on his first play, I liked Kubiak giving RB Devontae Booker more opportunities
- RB CJ Anderson played his heart out
- CB Chris Harris Jr. had 3 passes defensed and 2 totals
- TE Virgil Green was fantastic
- The timeout called on the last kick of the game
10 things I didn’t like:
- The Panthers won the possession game, primarily in the second quarter
- The inability to cover WR Kelvin Benjamin
- Three turnovers!
- Panthers had nine 3rd-down conversions out of 15
- Zero punts within the 20 yard line
- Zero sacks and 1 QB hit in the first half
- Defensive line was consistently ran over
- The offensive line in pass blocking was poor
- The terrible timing of penalties
- The media discussion about ILB Brandon Marshall’s kneel-down the ENTIRE GAME
Bonus:
This was amazing:
This hit reminded me of the Steve Atwater days: