How the Panthers Managed to Blow a 17 Point Lead
The Panthers were well on their way to their third win in a row, ready to catch up with division rivals Tampa Bay and New Orleans in the standings and keep their playoff hopes alive. Then catastrophe struck.
Carolina dominated the first half of Sunday's game, putting together three long drives for scores, and forcing a turnover and holding the Chiefs to just 110 yards of offense on the defensive side of the ball. The team looked revitalized, played with energy and dynamism, and generally looked much better than the 6-2 Chiefs- a pleasant surprise. This was all nullified, however, by a series of very unfortunate events that possibly placed the team out of playoff contention. Let's look at them:
1. Offensive line struggles. On the opening drive of the second half, the Panthers slowly but steadily chugged their way to the Kansas City 20, eating up a lot of clock in the process. Keeping the defense fresh and off the field, they honestly couldn't have asked for a better drive to start the half, and it was looking like it would result in a sure three points. Except it didn't. A 1st and 10 on the KC 20 quickly turned into a 4th and 30 on the KC 40 as Cam was sacked not one, but two different times, putting the team out of field goal range. Coming into the game, we knew the offensive line was going to be an important factor in the team's performance, and unfortunately they were unable to contain Dee Ford and friends on perhaps the most critical drive of the game.
2. The offense became too predictable. After an excellent first half, the offense just wasn't able to produce the same type of effectiveness in the second half. Jonathan Stewart and Fozzy Whitaker did next to nothing on the ground, and Cam couldn't maintain his first half performance. Short runs and short passing plays were the theme in this half, and the team managed a meager 57 yards after the 51 yard opening drive.
3. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Cam lobbed a very ill-advised pass to Greg Olsen that resulted in an interception early in the fourth quarter. This would have been manageable if the offense was able to tackle Eric Berry, which they were certainly capable of, but that didn't happen and Berry pulled off a spectacular 42 yard pick six, completely changing the momentum of the game.
With 29 seconds left in the game, the score tied 17-17, Kelvin Benjamin was mercilessly stripped by Marcus Peters as he was fighting for extra yardage, giving the Chiefs prime field position at the Carolina 24 that ultimately resulted in the game-winning field goal. Why Benjamin was trying to fight for a couple yards and expose the ball in that situation is beyond me. Getting points on the board with less than 30 seconds left in the game is highly, highly unlikely, and the team should have been bracing for OT in my opinion, but that's the way it goes. I said Marcus was going to be a big factor in the game, and it turned out to be true.
For a team that was slowly regaining its footing, this loss comes as a huge disappointment and morale breaker. Let's hope Cam and his fellow teammates can put this collapse behind them and keep moving forward.
