The Panthers sat most of their starters, and the backups struggled to find production.
The Carolina Panthers sat most of their starters, and their backups were outplayed by the New England Patriots in the 17-3 loss.
First Quarter
It didn’t take long for the game to remind everyone how unexciting preseason football generally is. A run play and two incomplete passes quickly ended the Panthers opening drive. The Patriots didn’t fare much better. The Panthers took to the air on their second drive, but drops by Terrace Marshall and Jonathan Mingo led to a second straight three and out. Both teams traded a couple of punts before the Panthers finally got their first 1st down with a Mike Boone run with a minute left in the first quarter.
Second Quarter
The offensive explosion didn’t lead to anything. The Panthers were forced to punt again a few plays later. The first points finally got put on the scoreboard a few punts later. D’Shawn Jamison missed trying to jump a route, which led to a long third down conversion that set up a Patriots touchdown. The Panthers looked like they might respond after a couple of nice catch-and-runs from Jordan Matthews, but that was undone by a Jack Plummer intentional grounding and then fumble on the subsequent first and second downs. It set the Panthers up with a 3rd and 34 that they could not convert. More punts happened, and the half ended with the Panthers down 7-0.
Third Quarter
You’ll never believe what happened in the third quarter. More punts! The Panthers offense couldn’t move the ball outside of another decent catch by Matthews. The defense continued to try to hold up their end of the bargain by forcing the Patriots to punt the ball back. Eku Leota played a big part in that with a couple of tackles for loss. The Patriots eventually manufactured a field goal drive in the first series with Joe Milton at quarterback. He marched the team to the 24 yard line, where former Panther great Joey Slye knocked home the field goal.
Fourth Quarter
The Panthers punted the ball away on their first drive of the fourth quarter after a botched exchange on an end around put the offense behind the sticks. Milton orchestrated another scoring drive, this time ending in a touchdown pass. Jake Luton took over at quarterback for the Panthers and helped lead the team on their most successful drive of the game. A third down drop on the doorstep of the endzone by Ihmir Smith-Marsette forced a field goal by Harrison Mevis. The Patriots kneeled the clock out after that.
Overview
There were a few notably good performances, particularly on defense. Eku Leota blew up a couple of plays in the backfield and Lamar Jackson had some good pass breakups early in the game. The only time the offense moved was when Jack Plummer targeted Jordan Matthews. The undrafted rookie quarterback had a rough go of it in his debut. He was slow to make decisions and wasn’t able to orchestrate any successful drives. The offensive line didn’t help with a number of penalties.
The Panthers will have over a week to make corrections. They’ll play at home next Saturday against the Jets.