Initial Reactions to the Panthers' Loss to Tampa Bay

A few thoughts from today's game.

The Carolina Panthers fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday 30-24, eliminating them from playoff contention. Here are a few quick thoughts on what transpired today in Tampa.

Jaycee Horn's absence hurt

Coming into the game, the big key was how C.J. Henderson and Keith Taylor would do bumping up a spot on the depth chart with Jaycee Horn out with a broken wrist. Well, it went about as badly as one could've imagined. Tom Brady carved up Carolina's secondary, throwing for 432 yards and three touchdowns - all of which went to Mike Evans, who had 200 yards receiving. With Horn, the outcome of this game likely looks a lot different.

Rushing attack wasn't there

I put the blame on both the backs and the offensive line. The big guys up front weren't getting the push they had been getting in previous weeks with the backs being met in the backfield on several occasions. D'Onta Foreman also didn't look himself today as he didn't hit the gaps as quickly as normal. Entering the day, the Panthers were 0-4 under Steve Wilks when rushing for less than 100 yards. They finished today's game with 74 yards.

Went away from the identity

Yes, it was nice to see Sam Darnold spin it and Tampa did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage but I feel like Ben McAdoo went away from the run game too early. Throwing the ball 34 times and only running it 22 times is not the recipe for this team to win. Trust in the big guys to eventually start getting downhill and find success on the ground. McAdoo didn't do that today.

Wilks is the guy

Yeah, the Panthers won't be going to the playoffs but that doesn't change my mind on who should be the organization's next head coach. It's Steve Wilks. He knows what it takes to win here. He has a clear vision for how this team should play. He has command of the locker room. And most importantly, he did a whole hell of a lot with what he was given to work with.

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