The Carolina Panthers saw their winning streak snapped at two games after they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-16, at home in Week 15 of the 2022 NFL season. The Panthers were behind early, and their efforts to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter proved to be too little, too late. The defeat kept the Panthers from snatching first place in the NFC South. They are now in a triple-tie for second place with the Saints and the Falcons. All three teams are a game behind the division-leading Buccaneers. Here we'll discuss the four Panthers most to blame for their Week 15 loss vs. the Steelers.
The Panthers had a faint hope of winning the NFC South if they could defeat the Steelers and keep pace with the Buccaneers in a tightly contested divisional race. However, they were unable to do so and ended up losing ground here. They have now secured their fifth consecutive losing season.
The Panthers were thoroughly dominated at the line of scrimmage and struggled in the run game on both offense and defense. They were unable to run the ball effectively on offense, and the defense was unable to stop the Steelers from running the ball at will throughout the match. Despite a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, the Panthers were unable to come away with the win in a game that they desperately needed.
Carolina has three more games left in the season. The Panthers have a home game against the Detroit Lions in Week 16, followed by back-to-back road games against the Buccaneers and Saints. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers respond to this adversity in the coming weeks and if they can turn things around in order to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
For now, let us look at the four Panthers most to blame for their Week 15 loss vs. the Steelers.
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 18, 2022
4. CB Keith Taylor, Jr.
When starting cornerback CJ Henderson left the game due to an ankle injury, Taylor was called upon to step up. However, he had difficulty handling the pressure and was repeatedly outperformed by the opposing offense.
This was particularly evident on third down when Taylor struggled against players like Najee Harris, George Pickens, and Diontae Johnson. Johnson even had a game-high 98 receiving yards on 10 catches.
If Henderson is unable to play for an extended period of time, Taylor will likely continue to be targeted by opposing offenses. In order for this to change, he will need to either make more plays or be replaced in the lineup.
It was just a very difficult game for him. Coach Steve Wilks acknowledged Taylor's struggles and stated that he needs to make more plays in the future.
3. Panthers Offensive Line
During the eight games under interim coach Wilks, the Panthers had established a strong running game. They were averaging 146.9 yards per game and had allowed only 11 sacks. However, in this encounter game, they ran for a paltry 21 yards. That's their lowest output since the 2012 season opener.
Much of that was because of poor offensive line play. The Panthers o-line wasn't able to consistently open up rushing lanes, and they also allowed four sacks of quarterback Sam Darnold. Keep in mind that Darnold had only been sacked twice in his previous two starts. This was a significant departure from the team's recent focus on anchoring their offensive identity on their stout o-line.
2. Panthers Running Game
As a result of poor o-line performance, Carolina's running game suffered setback after setback.
Take note that the Panthers had been performing well in their previous two games, running for a total of 408 yards and scoring three touchdowns on 92 carries. However, they were outplayed by the Steelers here. Pittsburgh ran for 156 yards and scored three touchdowns on 45 attempts. This strong ground game allowed the Steelers to dominate in terms of the time of possession and also contributed to their impressive 75 percent success rate on third down.
In contrast, the Panthers struggled with their rushing offense, managing just 21 yards on 16 carries. Again, that's their lowest output in practically a decade. They also converted on only four out of 11 third-down attempts. The Panthers' running backs, D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard, were particularly ineffective. Foreman ran for nine yards on 10 tries and Hubbard finished with just 10 yards on four attempts.
1. Panthers Coaches
While standing at the post-game podium, coach Wilks admitted his and his staff's own shortcomings in this loss. He said that he and his coaches did not adequately prepare the players for the game in Week 15.
For the coaching staff, one particular incident involving offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo stood out. McAdoo asked for a quarterback pull from Darnold, which cost him one yard, and put the team down 21-7 on a third-and-8 play from the Pittsburgh 10-yard line.
That kind of decision-making just had no place in a game of this importance for Carolina. They're still alive when it comes to the playoff race, but their coaches definitely need to make better decisions in the weeks to come.
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