Loss to Eagles worst halftime lead squandered since Nov 2016

[KB_fan]

Apologies, I know it's long-past the 24 hour rule and time to be moving on from Sunday's loss.  But I've had a really busy two weeks and no chance to be on here much at all for awhile. 

There's a question going around Twitter today about "most embarrassing los for a Charlotte team" ... that reminded me of something that was nagging at me after Sunday's game that I wanted to research.  Today I got that chance.  I kept wondering why Sunday's loss hurt SO BADLY... really like a gut punch.  It's not like we haven't done a lot of losing in the past few years, and some games (e.g. loss to Steelers on MNF in 2018) were really much much much more embarrassing.

And then it hit me.  This is the first time we've squandered a big halftime lead and lost the game in quite some time.  I went to Pro Football Reference to confirm the data:

Here are the largest halftime leads ever squandered (by score margin at halftime):

Here are the results in chronological order.  We haven't squandered a lead of more than 4 points since November 2016.

 

So, yes, that's why Sunday was such a gut punch.  We had a decent lead and then proceeded to completely give it away.  Having hope and optimism denied hurts much more than not having hope in the first place!

[KB_fan]

You can look at the data for yourselves here:

https://stathead.com/tiny/Gv69U

[KB_fan]

I got curious as to how the team had fared in the weeks following squandering a big halftime lead.

In the 8 other games where they've led by 9 or more points at the half and then gone on to lose, their record was 5-2 in the following week's game. (In 2001 week 13, the game with the large squandered lead was followed by a bye, so I didn't count it.)

In 2011 week 14, squandered a 16 point lead.  Week 15: Won 28-13

In 2016 week 10, squandered a 14 point lead.  Week 11:  Won 23-20

In 2011 week 11, squandered a 13 point lead.  Week 12:  Won 27-19

In 2001 week 13, squandered an 11 point lead.  Week 14 Bye  [Wk 15 L]

In 2010 week 13, squandered an 11 point lead.  Week 14:  Lost 10-31

In 2009 week 9, squandered an 11 point lead.  Week 10: Won 28-19

In 2016 week 1, squandered a 10 point lead.  Week 2: Won 46-27

In 1998 week 10, squandered a 9 point lead.  Week 11: Lost 9-13

[hepcat]

That's what happens when your QB throws 3 INTs and the head coach blames the defense

[Shocker]

9 points?  This is hardly a 28-3 type of collapse 

[Khyber53]

So, let's hope we follow the trend with a bounce back game. Lord knows we need one bad about now.

 

[outlaw4]

I almost forgot about that 2016 Chiefs game and so against my own wisdom, I looked it up.

That was when Kelvin Benjamin fumbled on the first play of the final drive with only 30 seconds left on the clock which led to the game losing FG. And before that, Cam throwing a pick six. 

Can't lie. That loss was just as brutal.

[Luciu5]

6 hours ago, KB_fan said:

Apologies, I know it's long-past the 24 hour rule and time to be moving on from Sunday's loss.  But I've had a really busy two weeks and no chance to be on here much at all for awhile.

You haven't missed much.  In fact, you should probably be thankful.  This place has been a shitshow.  I really hope we win sunday just so people's periods hopefully end.  The dumbass hot takes have been extra this week.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Luciu5

[KB_fan]

4 hours ago, Shocker said:

9 points?  This is hardly a 28-3 type of collapse 

Definitely not a huge lead. I was kind of surprised that a 16 point margin was the biggest halftime lead we've ever squandered.

[KB_fan]

5 hours ago, Shocker said:

9 points?  This is hardly a 28-3 type of collapse 

Just for fun I looked up Panthers largest-ever margin at halftime.  Funnily enough, 28 points.  3 games.  1 of them versus Atlanta in 2015.  The 38-0 shutout.  Fun. 

[KB_fan]

Largest 1st Q. margin:  21 points.   (in a loss:  14 points)

Largest halftime margin:  28 points.  (in a loss: 16 points)

Largest end of 3rd qtr margin:  38 points. (in a loss: 10 points)

Largest final point margin:  38 points.

[PghPanther]

and the Falcons say............"hold my beer.......... and pull up that film again of the SB we were in with New England." 

[frankw]

18 hours ago, hepcat said:

That's what happens when your QB throws 3 INTs and the head coach blames the defense

It's everybody else's fault but the qb.

[MVPccaffrey]

18 hours ago, outlaw4 said:

I almost forgot about that 2016 Chiefs game and so against my own wisdom, I looked it up.

That was when Kelvin Benjamin fumbled on the first play of the final drive with only 30 seconds left on the clock which led to the game losing FG. And before that, Cam throwing a pick six. 

Can't lie. That loss was just as brutal.

and since then they drafted a HOFer at QB while we took an oft injured RB, and signed two bottom 10 starters as signal callers