By September 15, 2024
Photo: Alex Cason / CLTure
Sunday’s home opener celebrated 30 years of football in the Carolinas and Dave Canales’ debut at Bank of America Stadium. The team’s performance unfortunately left a sour taste for the 70,000-plus fans in attendance, as the Panthers fell to the Los Angeles Chargers 26-3.
It was a picturesque day for football in the Queen City (80 degrees and sunny) as Panthers legend Jake Delhomme riled up the crowd as the honorary Keep Pounding drummer. Fans were hungry for a bounce-back performance from Carolina’s second-year quarterback and a defense that allowed 47 points against the Saints in Week 1.
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There was some optimism entering the game, but Canales’ offense mustered just two first downs in the first half and Bryce Young threw a horrendous interception (his third of the season) while the Panthers defense was pummeled by Jim Harbaugh’s power rushing attack.
Despite failing to score an offensive touchdown, Canales did feel there was improvement to build on.
“Saw some improvement, in terms of taking care of the ball. We’d like to not have that interception and be clean with the football,” Canales said in the postgame press conference. “It really just came down to third down again, offensively and defensively. Just not acceptable from a coaching standpoint, a player standpoint– all of us. I couldn’t ask this group to play harder than we did. There was great effort on the field.”
Third-Down Woes
After converting just one of their 10 third-down attempts against New Orleans, Carolina’s struggles continued in Week 2, finding success just once on 12 attempts against the Chargers’ defense.
Young’s pattern of throwing low-risk passes short of the first-down markers continued, as fans grew more frustrated. Failing to get his playmakers the ball in open space, Canales again stated he needed to watch the film before expanding on the team’s third-down struggles.
Bryce Young’s passing chart today. pic.twitter.com/3q69kFmrUa
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 15, 2024
“We have to make sure we’re challenging the sticks. Some (short passes) were by design. In general, we had opportunities on both sides on third down to make plays,” Canales said. “As the head coach, responsible for the offense, I have to make sure that I continue to work with our staff to really figure out what those things are that give us a chance to be successful.”
Averaging just 2.5 yards per pass and trailing from start to finish in the fourth-consecutive game (dating back to last season), Carolina’s offense is longing for a glimpse of creativity and sustainability.
“You’ve got to have a one-play mentality, and not let the house burn down. If s*** doesn’t go our way, we can’t let it keep snowballing,” right guard Robert Hunt said postgame. “We got three (points), which sucks because last week we got 10. We’ll come to work tomorrow and look at what we can do better. Still got a lot of football.”
Young and the Restless
While the loudest cheers at the game were for Young when he took the field, the boo birds came out on Sunday as Carolina’s offense crumbled yet again. For the second straight home game, the Panthers’ offense was held without a touchdown. Young completed 18 of his 26 passes for just 84 yards, with his longest completion to tight end Tommy Tremble for 12 yards.
The home opener saw sideline frustrations from wide receiver Adam Thielen, who was targeted three times and recorded two catches for 20 yards. The 12-year NFL veteran apologized to Young following the interaction and put the blame on the entire offense.
“When you step in between those lines, you have to be a different type of player. At some point, it boils over,” Thielen said postgame in the locker room. “When you put so much into this game, game-planning, how you practice and fight through some stuff, you want to see progression. You have to have that dog mentality, or you’ll get eaten alive. We are all in this together. I’m excited about where we can go, but we need to have urgency.”
When asked about replacing Young with veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, Canales shut the question down immediately.
“Bryce is our quarterback. We’re going to continue to shore up and fix the things we need to,” Canales said. “These are all valuable reps; these are all valuable games. Hopefully, we’ll take another step this week.”
Horn’s Up-And-Down Day
With the defense reeling from last Sunday, cornerback Jaycee Horn had a volatile day in the secondary, but he did reel in his first interception since 2022, keeping the Panthers somewhat competitive in the first half.
Horn matched up with first-round pick Quinton Johnston much of the afternoon, who scored the game’s first points, beating Horn in man-to-man coverage on a 29-yard touchdown.
The Panthers’ standout corner bounced back on the following possessions, recording an interception and a third-and-short tackle to give Carolina’s offense a chance.
But the Chargers’ downhill rushing attack was the difference, with 219 total yards, led by J.K. Dobbins’ 131 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. The Chargers posted eight chunk plays to Carolina’s two, which were both created by Hubbard. Horn elaborated on limiting the explosives after the game.
“We’ve still got to do a better job stopping the run. I gave up an explosive play downfield– that was the start of it, and it just rolled from there,” Horn said postgame. “If you don’t stop the run in the NFL, then you can’t stop anything.”
On to Las Vegas
The Panthers own their first-round pick in next April’s draft, and that’s the light at the end of the tunnel right now for many fans. At this rate, scoring less than seven points per game, and surrendering 36.5, Carolina will be the first team on the clock in Green Bay, and a new quarterback could be on the docket. After an abysmal Week 1 performance followed by a three-point offensive output in the home opener, optimism is fading fast.
The Panthers will look to get their first win of the season against the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday, as their slate of AFC West games continue.
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