Carolina Panthers: Week 3 Grades vs. Minnesota Vikings
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is chased out of the pocket by Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr (55) and defensive end Brian Robison (96) during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
The Carolina Panthers struggled in nearly every point of the game in their 22-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Here are the grades for each facet of the matchup.
The Carolina Panthers welcomed the Minnesota Vikings to the Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. Behind an eye-opening defense, the Vikings defeated the Panthers 22-10 and brought an end to a 14-game home winning-streak.
Looking back at this game, there are a number of areas of concern for the Panthers. After all, it was a powerful defense that stopped this group from winning Super Bowl 50 and the first game in the 2016 season. The Vikings greatly limited the Panthers’ passing game, which forced the issue towards this victory on Sunday.
The Vikings created a blue print for how to hamper the Panthers’ offense by limiting the growing connection between Cam Newton, Devin Funchess, and Kelvin Benjamin. Coupled with forcing Newton to make frequent mistakes, this was a strong game plan to circumvent the powerful offense that the Panthers displayed against the San Francisco 49ers.
This weekly piece looks at how well the Carolina Panthers played in key areas: Quarterback play, running back performance, wide receivers, defensive unit, and special teams play. These groups are graded on a scholastic scale, starting with an A all the way down to an F. These grades are supported by statistical reports and input on where improvement could be made for the future.
Here are the Week 3 grades for the Panthers against the Vikings.
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) sits on the ground after being sacked for a safety in the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterbacks Grade: F
To say that Cam Newton struggled in this game would be quite an understatement. He ended the day completing 21-of-35 passes for 262 yards. Newton didn’t throw a touchdown, but did throw three interceptions. This is the first time he has put forth a multi-interception game since playing the Philadelphia Eagles in October 2015. He ended the day with a QBR of 16.3 and a Quarterback Rating of 47.6—both of those numbers are well-below of anything considered acceptable for any quarterback, let alone a franchise one.
The most glaring issue is the three interceptions that Newton was forced into making. One of the biggest criticisms that Newton faced early in his career was that he was prone to making bad decisions and trying to force the ball into bad throws. That issue came back up when facing what some are considering the best defense in the league to start this year. Newton was unable to connect with his two favorite receivers in Benjamin and Funchess, which cut the big-play ability and threats to the Vikings’ defense.
Newton was successful in keeping the diversity in the passing attack going, using seven different receivers by the end of the game. But they were unable to do enough to get any points on the board. In this game, Newton showed an inability to reignite the offense that was held scoreless for three quarters. This isn’t a new trend for the Panthers, once known as the Cardiac Cats. Yet this is an offense which much more power on paper than this game represented.
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Cameron Artis-Payne (34) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith (22) in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Running Backs Grade: C+
The Carolina Panthers are a powerful running game. So much so that, when the team earns more than 100 yards on the ground, many look at that as a run-of-the-mill performance. The total group ended with 105 yards on 28 attempts and one touchdown.
Cameron Artis-Payne led the way with 47 yards on 12 attempts, followed by Cam Newton with 26 yards on seven attempts. Fozzy Whittaker, Ted Ginn Jr., and Mike Tolbert all contributed to the push as well.
What was telling about this group performance is that Whittaker was the only player only to earn more than four yards per attempt. The Panthers have long been able to rack up at least four yards per rush, but the Vikings’ defense held them in check to an average of 3.8 per attempt.
While this seems like an adequate performance by the Panthers’ running game, the unit was unable to get any type of push off of the line of scrimmage. Not only was the offensive line unable to move the defensive line backward, they were unable to protect Newton as they allowed eight sacks. The entire offense was held in check throughout much of this game in a very alarming way.
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (88) runs after a catch in the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Wide Receivers Grade: B-
The Panthers’ passing game performed well on Sunday. The 265 yards on 22 receptions was a strong output for the unit. Yet, it wasn’t enough of a performance to correct the stagnation that plagued the Panthers’ offense for much of this game.
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Greg Olsen led all receivers with 64 yards on six catches, followed closely by Ginn Jr. with 62 yards on three catches of his own. Corey Brown was the only other receiver with more than 50 yards receiving on the day, finishing with 57 yards. Ed Dickson, Whittaker, and Artis-Payne also contributed with yards through the air.
The big glaring issues were that Newton was unable to get either Benjamin or Funchess into the game. Many expected this tandem to cause havoc on nearly any defensive backfield set against. When paired with Olsen’s consistency and Ginn Jr.’s speed, this had the makings to be one of the best receiving groups in the league.
Unfortunately, this game showed that this unit can be controlled, if not outright pushed out of having any sort of impact on the game. Carolina cannot continue to have games in which Benjamin and Funchess are held without catches from start to finish. Expect the play calling in Week 4 to heavily target both of these men.
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon (21) is tackled by Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) and defensive end Charles Johnson (95) during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Unit Grade: C
The Panthers’ defense continues to play well, but were “let down” by the lack of play on the offensive side of the ball. Even though the Vikings scored 22 points, they only found their way to the end zone one time from a Sam Bradford pass to Kyle Rudolph. The defense did a strong job of limiting the Viking’s entry into the end zone, but was put in a bad position as the offense was unable to add any points for three quarters.
The Vikings were held to only 211 total yards, 153 passing and 58 rushing. Carolina was able to control the Minnesota offense that was without Adrian Peterson and even helped Carolina win the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes. Still, this wasn’t enough to have an overwhelming impact on the game.
Another point of reference to the grade was the fact that the Panthers were unable to force turnovers. Carolina has become one of the best teams in forcing takeaways. However, they were unable to do so in this game as Bradford and company were able to protect the ball. What makes this unit so dangerous is that they are threats for big plays at any moment. But this game was devoid of any such situations.
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn (19) with the ball as Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith (22) defends in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Special Teams Grade: C-
Graham Gano was a model of consistency in recent years. But this season, he’s missed key field goals in two of three games. He went 1-of-2 in this game, with a long of 48 yards. He also hit one extra point. Andy Lee averaged 47.3 yards on the day, with four punts for189 total yards and two that dropped inside the 20-yard line.
Ted Ginn Jr., handled all of the kick return duties. He had two punt returns for zero yards and two kickoff returns for 44 total yards. This is yet another example of the field position struggles that Carolina has experienced early in this season. The return game is an area where the group has struggled as they aren’t a group that gets big returns very often.
Field position is a big part of the game of football, but Carolina has yet to find a way to leverage it consistently. It will be interesting to see if this is an area in which the team makes an effort to improve. Using Ginn Jr. as the main returner is a step in that direction, but he has yet to produce big gains. When coupled with Gano’s continuing struggles, the special teams unit was unable to be the reliable bright spot that the Panthers put forth week after week.
Sep 25, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera and Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer talk after the game. The Vikings defeated the Panthers 22-10 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Play Grade: D
From one point to another, the Panthers struggled in nearly every area of play. Newton was unable to get the ball moving and the offensive line offered him limited protection. The eight sacks he suffered are the most that he’s been taken down since entering the NFL. Paired with the fact that he was unable to get the ball to Benjamin or Funchess, this is the closest to a complete debacle offensively.
Defensively, the Panthers limited the Vikings access to the end zone, but even giving up 22 points was too much of a hill to climb when the offense is under performing. The unit was also unable to force any turnovers, which severely limited their performance on the evening. The same could be said for the special teams core, where Gano’s continued missing of field goals leaves points on the board in close games.
At 1-2, Carolina is dangerously close to losing a lot of momentum that followed this unit into the 2016 season. The team starts divisional play next week when they travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons at 1 p.m. ET. This loss to the Vikings shows that there are a lot of areas in which this unit needs to quickly improve.