Carolina Panthers studs and duds from ugly preseason loss to the New England Patriots

The Panthers were bad pretty much everywhere and all around, but there were some exceptions to the rule.

Aug 8, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews (81) rushes against the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Well, that's what happens when you play an NFL preseason game in the rain with nothing but a bunch of backups. The Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots just finished off one of the ugliest preseason contests we have ever seen - and that's really saying something.

While it's tough to glean any truly meaningful lessons from a game like this when virtually no key pieces were on the field, there were nevertheless a few players who stood out, for good or ill. Here are our studs and duds from Carolina's preseason 17-3 loss on the road to New England.

Stud: TE Jordan Matthews

The biggest offensive stud for the Panthers was easily former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver turned tight end Jordan Matthews, who was basically the only capable pass-catcher in the lineup for Carolina. Matthews caught all three of his targets from Jack Plummer, going for 48 total yards, including a 28-yarder.

Dud: QB Jack Plummer

It's tough to be too harsh on undrafted rookie QB Jack Plummer given the help that he had to work with in this, his first NFL game. That said, Plummer didn't do himself any favors, either. He completed just 11 of 21 pass attempts, totaling 86 yards, no touchdowns and a passer rating of 62.8. He also took five sacks and fumbled twice.

Stud: LB Eku Leota

On the other side of the ball things were much cleaner, as per usual. Even though it was the Panthers' backups on defense they managed to keep things close until the fourth quarter despite getting total incompetence from Carolina's offense. Leota was the most disruptive defender for the front-seven, posting two tackles for a loss and a quarterback hit.

Dud: Backup offensive line

Sacks are fundamentally a quarterback stat, so those five sacks are ultimately on Plummer. However, pressures are definitely on the offensive line, and there were plenty of those to go around. This lineup was a far cry from the Panthers' projected starting five of Ickey Ekonwu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt and Taylor Moton, but it didn't inspire confidence in their depth.

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