The Carolina Panthers Week 11 matchup versus the Washington Football Team has come to a conclusion. Despite the excitement Cam Newton brought to the organization, Carolina still lost a close game to Washington. Even so, this team has room to improve and plenty of time left in the season to make a playoff push. We go over our Panthers' Week 11 takeaways after their loss to the Washington Football Team.

Defensively, Carolina looked solid overall. They pressured Taylor Heinicke and made him uncomfortable throughout the game. However, the Panthers failed to record a turnover. This is still a young defense, but this unit has to find ways to get the ball back for the offense much more often.

The Panthers' offense moved down the field more consistently with Cam Newton under center. However, it wasn't a perfect display of Matt Rhule's scheme. Carolina has to find more ways to feed Christian McCaffrey. Additionally, Newton's energy should continue to grow and help the offense as the season progresses. With that said, here are three Panthers' Week 11 takeaways from their matchup against Washington.

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Panthers Week 11 Takeaways

3. Carolina defense must create turnovers to help the offense

Overall, it wasn't a bad outing from the Panthers' defense. Taylor Heinicke threw just over 200 yards and nobody outside of Terry McLaurin did much in Washington's passing attack. Even so, the Football Team found a way to win.

As mentioned previously, Carolina has a young defensive group. Many of the players are still adjusting to the NFL level and are on a great trajectory. There is still time for the Panthers to lock it down this season, as the NFC South is currently wide open. Look for Carolina to make the proper adjustments and force turnovers in their next game against the Miami Dolphins.

2. Chrisitan McCaffrey needs substantially more carries

Christian McCaffrey led the team with 17 total touches. Even though he was the team leader, McCaffrey needs the ball way more often than that. He's one of the most dangerous players with the ball in his hands and for whatever reason, the Panthers deterred to give him the rock. He finished the game with 10 carries for 59 yards, which is incredibly efficient.

His numbers are insane off of limited touches, so imagine what he can do with more opportunities. McCaffrey is not to blame here, as the coaching staff is at fault. Matt Rhule has to feed his superstar player more often if he wants the Panthers to make the postseason.

1. Cam Newton is all the way back, despite the Panthers losing

He only threw for 189 passing yards, but Cam Newton looked amazing in his return as the Panthers' starting quarterback. He totaled three touchdowns on the day and kept Carolina in the game throughout, even though the final result was a loss. The offense looked much more fluid and all signs are pointing towards massive improvements for this team.

Considering the NFC South is so competitive, it's time for Cam Newton and the Panthers to buckle down and get the ball rolling. The playoffs are right around the corner and Carolina has an uphill battle ahead of them. Newton has brought new life into the franchise, but now it's time for that to translate over to wins. We'll see if they can get back on track in their next game against the Dolphins.