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S Fowler on Panthers last drive

raleigh-panther

By raleigh-panther,
in Carolina Panthers

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raleigh-panther Grand Master

raleigh-panther

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Scott Fowler from observer   An excerpt  from larger article

gotta say, i am not sure what Canales or Young were  thinking in the final 2 mins  they both looked like they have never a 2 mon drill in their lives    Unprepared   Let’s just throw and hope was the strategy 

Add to it,why leggett, the most unreliable receiver, was targeted so much during that drive is beyond me 

 

 

With a chance to be unforgettable, Panthers’ final drive was one to forget

BY SCOTT FOWLER

[email protected]

4 hrs ago

The Carolina Panthers lost again Sunday, 27-22 to Arizona, but let’s at least give them some credit for their heartbreaking creativity.

This, at least, was not a rout like Week 1. Yes, the Panthers (0-2) did a whole lot of nothing through the beginning of the third quarter against Arizona (2-0), falling behind, 27-3.

Then they did a whole lot of something, scoring 19 unanswered points under the direction of quarterback Bryce Young. Then the special teams recovered an onside kick by punter Sam Martin to, quite remarkably, get the ball back, down only 27-22 with 1:55 and 51 yards left to snag the win. And one timeout, too.

After finishing three straight possessions with touchdowns, the Panthers would need to do it a fourth time to pull off what statistically would have been the largest comeback in franchise history.

But while there was no quit in this team Sunday, there was no comeback either, and nothing but nonsense in that last “march,” which ended 46 yards away from the goal line.

Let’s go through a little of that final drive for the Panthers, shall we?

Young, who had played a horrible first quarter and then a terrific second half, reverted to first-quarter form. He was 0-for-6 on the drive. He only targeted Tetairoa McMillan, the rookie that is clearly the team’s best receiver, one time. When all else was failing, the option of throwing a jump ball to T-Mac — drafted No. 8 overall for exactly this sort of situation — should have been utilized. It wasn’t. Head coach Dave Canales suggested that the Cardinals started shifting their coverage toward McMillan.

Said the rookie afterward to reporters when asked what the Cardinals did to limit him on the last drive: “I’m not too sure. It looked like regular defense to me.

That last drive only lasted as long as it did because of three defensive penalties on Arizona, which kept Carolina in the game (defensive holding to negate what would have been a Young turnover; roughing the passer; offsides).
 

Now it is true that the Panthers’ offensive line was threadbare by then, with two starters out. This made the degree of difficulty harder for Young and everyone else. But the Cardinals defense was also banged up, as their defensive backs had been going down like dominoes.

So how do you solve Arizona’s suddenly fearsome pass rush? Screens. Quick hitters. Chuba Hubbard in the flat. Maybe even a shovel pass to a tight end. There was plenty of time — what there wasn’t was plenty of yardage, nor enough flexibility from Canales.

One of Young’s six incompletions was a pass to Xavier Legette, who to me at that point shouldn’t have been in the game. That pass went incomplete of course, because Legette — the Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 2024 — had what was undoubtedly the worst statistical lines in Carolina history.

Young targeted Legette eight times.

Eight! I have no idea why.

Legette caught one. One!

And it went for minus-2 yards, meaning Legette entered the game with 10 yards receiving this season and left it with eight.

Now to be fair, Young (35-55-328 yards, with three TDs) had gotten Carolina back into the thing. Hunter Renfrow had a breakout game at slot receiver, scoring twice. McMillan didn’t score, but had his first 100-yard receiving game. Tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and wide receiver Brycen Tremayne were also very good.

And the comeback happened after Young about lost the game for the Panthers in the first quarter, fumbling the ball away on a strip-sack that led directly to a return touchdown and then throwing an ill-advised pass under pressure that resulted in a wounded-duck interception and three more points.

Said Canales after the game about Young: “Sometimes it ain’t the worst thing, if you’re in that situation, to take a sack. I also know he makes some magical plays.”

We saw both on Sunday. Young held the ball too long sometimes, including on Carolina’s final offensive play (a fourth-down sack). He also made some magic, sometimes throwing between three guys at once, sometimes escaping a sack attempt and keeping his eyes downfield for a touchdown.

So there were some things that were better Sunday. Carolina only scored 10 points in Week 1; this time the Panthers had 22. The run defense improved. Young, after playing the first five quarters of the season as if he didn’t belong in the NFL, finally looked like he did again for those three consecutive TD marches.

But that final drive?!

Listen, Arizona was ripe to be beaten at that point. NFL onside kicks didn’t succeed about 94% of the time in 2024, yet this one did after a Cardinal misplayed it.

Arizona had lost 19 points of its 24-point lead at that point. The Panthers, who had never successfully come back from more than 17 points down before, were close to a signature win for both Canales and Young.

And then… total letdown.

Again, let’s emphasize, the clock was very little factor. Carolina didn’t have 15 seconds left to score; the Panthers had 115 seconds left. And a timeout. And only 51 yards to navigate.

Momentum was firmly on the Panthers’ side. These were the moments where Drew Brees killed the Panthers, time and again, when he played for New Orleans. Three-step drops. Eight yards here. Twelve yards there. Right down the field.

But for the Panthers, every play looked the same — Young on a deep drop. Scanning, scanning. The pocket breaking down. Then, either a heave, or some scurrying around and then a heave. Or a sack. All the blitz-killing plays that the Panthers have at their disposal — they didn’t run any of them, it seemed like, except a Hubbard run that netted 3 yards.

The Panthers’ best plays were Arizona penalties. Other than that, it all went south. Carolina couldn’t adjust to the Arizona adjustments. Needing a touchdown, the Panthers never got closer than the Arizona 33. And so that was that.
 

At least there was some hope.

At least the game was exciting in the final two minutes.

But, as has happened so often in the past eight seasons, when it was winning time for Carolina, it turned into losing time.

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Waldo Grand Master

Waldo

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Because they are doing the same thing with XL that they did with Young. Ignore the facts and just keep forcing it. He will get sat eventually too and we will see if he can get his head out of his arse then.

As for the last drive well it is harder when thr other team has to try. Pre onside kick they were just running the clock down and it was obvious to anyone not making excuses.

Edited by Waldo
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hepcat Grand Master

hepcat

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The one thing Scott Fowler didn't mention was that Arizona started blitzing the hell out of Bryce on that final drive daring him to throw fast and beat them with his arm. Canales and Bryce had no answer. If it weren't for penalties the drive would have been over in 4 plays with 0 positive yards gained, most likely only negative ones from sacks. 

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LegioX Mentor

LegioX

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Here’s the game in a nutshell. 
 

1. Panthers are losing pretty bad. Arizona takes their foot off the gas and Bryce is able to get garbage time yards and claw back.

2. Arizona finally gets their head out of their butts and brings the heat on the last drive.

3. Bryce folds like a wetnoodle under the pressure. Game over

Edited by LegioX
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LinvilleGorge Grand Master

LinvilleGorge

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1 minute ago, raleigh-panther said:

Are you sure lol

once was probably enough as this is the vast of characters this grade B movie is stuck with 

Yeah, I want to see if there was anything there. It's hard to tell on the television footage. I'm not gonna go through the torture of watching the entire game but yeah, I wanna see that last drive.

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Joe Bear Mentor

Joe Bear

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Just now, LinvilleGorge said:

I want to see if Bryce was ignoring open receivers in the short to mid-range. We needed to move fast but we didn't necessarily need big chunks. We had time to have some 8-10 yard plays.

I think he probably missed a couple and the pass rush caused him to miss a couple. So in that case, it comes down to play design: if your QB is limited in his arsenal, run the plays that, oh I don't know, worked on the previous possessions? I understand Arizona's defense tightened up a bit on the last drive but hell, they tried tightening up the one before that and couldn't.

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