Everything that Dave Canales said following the Panthers' week 4 loss to the Bengals

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales discusses the team's 34-24 loss.

Schuyler Callihan | 3 Hours Ago

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Carolina Panthers

Despite being on the wrong side of a 34-24 score, Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales was pleased with his team's effort and the progress that they made. Here is everything the Panthers' head man said in his postgame press conference.

Opening Statement

"Another step in the right direction in some areas, but early it came down to the ball. That first drive, we've got to finish those in the red zone. (The) decision to go for it on 4th right there. We're knocking on the door, we've got to be able to finish that and punch that in right there. But it ended up being a huge part of the game, a huge difference in it. But overall just without watching film, it just felt like, just the fundamentals of football - a couple of missed tackles, a few big plays early on, offensively some drops in some critical situations. Just being able to do right longer to finish and execute the way that we know we can. Another great day of running the football, the balance of it with the actions, and just some near-misses, things we've got to make sure we come up with in that regard. Again, for me, just talking to the team, just encouraged that our football continues to improve, but we've got to finish and we have to execute, and it all starts with me as the head coach and as we continue to go back to this practice, just making sure that we're really paying attention on those critical details of what it takes to play good football against a really good team, obviously, with some of their players that made big plays for them today."

Injury update on LBs Shaq Thompson and Josey Jewell

"We're evaluating Shaq right now. There's something in his lower leg. Really, we don't know until we get the MRI and get that information, but it was enough that he couldn't finish. Josey had two upper leg issues, a groin, and a hamstring, that kept him out from going back in. Then we had a couple guys that came out for a second. [Nick] Thurman finished the game after he was taken off. We'll give you more information as we evaluate them."

If he feels the offense is finding consistency

"Absolutely, 50 percent on 3rd down. That's a day where you can continue drives and continue to be aggressive and take your shots, get back to the run game, which all that came to life. But it was about execution, especially in that critical situation. We get the ball back, we're down a touchdown right there, and we've got to be able to throw and catch to continue those drives to give us a chance."

Diontae Johnson dropping a ball in the end zone in the first half

"He had a chance at it. Again, all these things are a day of near-misses. We had a couple of balls that went down the field, so I'm excited about that part of our offense - to be able to stretch the field. Teams know we're going to try to run the ball. This is exactly my dream of how this thing works from an offensive standpoint, and we've got to take advantage of those ops."

Evaluation of Xavier Legette's day

"Played fast, did what he was supposed to do, left a couple balls on the ground. That's a step that he's got to make, the fundamental things, is secure the catch and then be special after you do that. (It was) a cool spark to see him play fast like he's been doing and (it) gives us a chance to continue to use him in different ways."

The decision to go for it on the first drive of the game

"That mentality. We pride ourselves on being able to run the football. We did not finish. The guys take that personally. I take that personally. That's something that we have to continue to look at. What's our schemes? What was the breakdown? I'll watch the film and take a look at that. But that was an opportunity for us missed."

Throwing in the fake punt

"Yeah, down two scores, we had an opportunity right there. We took a shot. It was an aggressive thought right there with our defense playing better in the second half. We took that risk. I loved that opportunity. Wished we would have come up with it. Now we're moving the chains and we're back to rhythm, get the offense back out there and see what happens. I was all-in on that decision right there."

Evaluating Andy Dalton's day

"Solid day. I thought Andy just came out and executed the plan again. [Trey] Hendrickson got a great rush, tipped the ball from the back side, tipped the ball up and they got that early interception. That was a rough one. But to see him respond, bounce back, the guys staying together, staying committed to the rhythm and stuff, no panic, we ran the ball, we had the actions, we went down and scored, working our way back into this game. So, it was a great response to early adversity, and then I thought just a great job of finishing in general."