Carolina's Conservative Approach Allows Early Season Slide to Continue

The Panthers fall to 1-5 on the season.

INGLEWOOD, CA - Steve Wilks' first game as the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers didn't go as planned as they fell to the Los Angeles Rams 24-10 on Sunday.

Earlier in the week, Wilks mentioned that running the football would be the identity of this team moving forward. It makes sense, right? On the opening drive, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo put an emphasis on getting the ball into the hands of Christian McCaffrey as he rushed for 27 yards on four carries and totaled 31 yards on three receptions. Rookie left tackle Ikem Ekwonu put the Panthers behind the chains with an illegal block to the back, but they were still able to come away with the first points of the game on a 42-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro.

Los Angeles couldn't get anything going offensively with two three-and-outs and another drive that only lasted five plays in length. Matthew Stafford and company finally sustained a drive late in the second quarter, ultimately leading to points as Allen Robinson beat Donte Jackson on a five-yard fade to the back pylon. Carolina couldn't get off the field, allowing three third down conversions on the scoring drive, including a 3rd and 13 and 3rd and 15.

Just seconds before the two-minute warning, Stafford threw his eighth interception on the year and it would be returned for a touchdown by Donte Jackson, giving the Panthers a 10-7 lead at the half.

Stafford found his groove in the opening minutes of the second half as he connected on three plays of 15+ yards to three different receivers, setting up a 21-yard field goal from Matt Gay to knot the game up at 10 a piece. Their next drive? More of the same, except this time, the Rams found the end zone via a Ben Skowronek 17-yard end-around touchdown rush. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Darrell Henderson extended the lead to 24-10 on a two-yard rush which felt like the knockout punch.

Carolina's unwillingness to stray away from their conservative offensive approach prevented them from being able to stay on the field and make plays. The offense went through a stretch of five consecutive three and outs and frustration mounted on the sideline as receivers coach Joe Dailey and Robbie Anderson got into a heated verbal exchange. Those heated discussions returned in the second half which caused Steve Wilks to send Anderson to the locker room for the remainder of the game early in the fourth quarter.

QB PJ Walker took a shot to the head late in the game and had to be evaluated on the sideline despite popping up right away. Jacob Eason entered the game and on his second drive, nearly put the Panthers back within a score after completing three of his first four passes for 59 yards. His fifth attempt was tipped and intercepted in the end zone by Nick Scott.

The Panthers will return home to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday. 

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