Initial Thoughts on Panthers' Loss to Vikings

Thoughts following the Panthers 21-13 loss to the Vikings.

The Panthers (0-3) hosted the Minnesota Vikings (0-3) on Sunday in a matchup of two teams desperate for their first win. 

Carolina was able to lead 13-7 at halftime behind the power of a Sam Franlkin 99-yard pick-6. In the second half though, Carolina was shutout as the Vikings added a couple scores of their own to tip the scales. 

Here are some observations from todays game:

Running the ball was a priority with inefficient results

Carolina rushed the ball 31 times on Sunday. Coach Reich expressed a desire leading up to the game to get the rushing attacking going this week, and they certainly tried to do so. Unfortunately, those 31 rushing attempts amassed just 83 yards, or just 2.67 yards per carry.

Hubbard and Sanders split the main carries almost down the middle with 14 carries for 41 yards and 13 carries for 19 yards respectively. Neither for much success.

Not only was the rushing attack inefficient on average, but it also lacked any notable peaks. Not a single one of the 31 rushing attempts went for more than 7 yards.

Getting the rushing game going will be important for taking the pressure off of the learning rookie quarterback Bryce Young, but that plan seems to be in need of some serious development itself at this time. 

Conversely, the Panthers defense was inconsistent stopping the run

While the Panthers offense struggled to get things going on the ground despite obvious efforts, the Minnesota offense did not have the same issue. 

Lead back Alexander Mattison and the newly acquired backup Cam Akers combined for 22 carries for 135 yards. The comes out to a much more successful 6.13 yards per carry compared to Carolina's 2.67 YPC. 

While Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins struggled and never found much of a rhythm throughout the game, the rushing attack was able to buy him some team and keep the offense on the field when necessary. 

Notably, this rushing success for Minnesota came without starting center Garrett Bradbury. 

If Carolina wants to be able support their rookie QB through mistakes and lessons with the running game, Minnesota showed just how that is possible today.

The offense is still simple, closed, and conservative

Not only were the rushing attempts high today, but the average air yards of Bryce Young's passes continued to be notably low.

In his first two games, Young's passes traveled only an average of 2.4 yards from the line of scrimmage, tied for the second-lowest in the NFL..  Now the numbers are not available for the air yards for Week 4 yet, but based on the eye test the number is probably similar.

Screens and dinks and dunks weigh that number down. When you add in a relatively vanilla scheme that is supposed to help a rookie learn, and 30+ rushing attempts, you get a recipe for a defense to comfortably hone pressure near the line of scrimmage.

The offense does not need to jump from square one to square one hundred to combat this problem. One does have to wonder at what point opening things up a bit to force the defense's hand becomes worth it when results are relatively stagnant so far. 

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