By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A moribund first half of NFL football morphed as disastrous for the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 2. Ahead 10-3 at halftime and tied 10-10 at the end of the third quarter, by game’s end the Panthers had lost to the visiting Arizona Cardinals, 26-16.
Three turnovers (2 pass interceptions and a lost fumble), as well as two turnovers on downs made life challenging for the Carolina offense.
At 6-1, Panther quarterback Baker Mayfield may be learning that size matters in the NFL. He had five passes batted down at the line of scrimmage by Cardinal defenders and now has an NFL-high of 11 pass deflections through just the first four weeks of the 2022 season.
Neither team was able to score in the first quarter but things looked up for Carolina early in the second period when outside linebacker Frankie Luvu stepped in front of a Kyler Murray pass for an interception — and ran it back 33 yards for a “Pick 6” TD.
The Panthers’ defense was up to the challenge of containing Murray and the Cardinals’ offensive weapons in the first half, limiting Arizona to just one field goal, a 33-yard effort by veteran placekicker Matt Prater with 3:34 remaining in the first half, after an 8-play, 50-yard drive.
But all the Panthers’ offense could claim as production in the first half was a 54-yard field goal by Eddy Piñeiro — and that as time expired at the end of the second quarter. The earlier five offensive possessions ended with a turnover on downs, two punts, a lost fumble and an interception. The longest drive was early in the second period: 35 yards in 8 plays that stalled at Carolina’s own 45 yard line.
In the third quarter, Arizona managed to scored a touchdown on a 9-play drive that covered 62 yards, ending when tight end Zach Ertz caught a 2-yard pass from Murray as he crossed the goal line. The Prater PAT tied the game at 10-10, and that is where it stayed into the fourth quarter when the Cardinals began to put the game out of reach with a field goal and two TDs on three consecutive possessions. And the possessions came after a punt by the Panthers, another pass interception, and a turnover on downs when Carolina was growing desperate to catch up with time running out.
About the batted down passes, head coach Matt Ruhle acknowledged in his post-game press conference that they are a problem.
“They (the batted down balls) showed up today. There is no denying that we have to get it fixed. For us, I think we have to go back and watch the tape… I do know we have to get it corrected. That’s too many…,” said Ruhle.
The Panthers head coach didn’t make excuses in talking about the offensive woes.
“A lot things that have to be corrected offensively, especially,” said Ruhle. “I thought our defense was kind of fighting and hanging in there and keeping it a close game — and just kind of waiting for the offense. In the end, I think the time of possession in the second half was brutal against our defense and, you know, our defense has to get off the field. Don’t get me wrong, but they just needed some spells. So, I think offensively we have to go back and look at everything and see what we can do better, see what we are doing well and try to fix what ails us right now because it took a toll on us tonight.”
If there was a glimmer of positives in the offense’s performance against the Cardinals, it was a late game rebound by star running back Christian McCaffery, who picked up over 100 yards from scrimmage (rushing plus pass receptions) for the third straight game this season. It was his 35th performance going over the century mark in 62 career games. Cleveland’s Nick Chubb, Miami’s Tyreek Hill and the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley are the only other NFL players to record at least 100 scrimmage yards in three games this season.
Also notable: placekicker Eddy Piñeiro’s 54-yard field goal in the first half was the longest of his NFL career. His previous best was with the Chicago Bears against Denver, a 53-yarder. For the 2022 season, he is one of only three NFL kickers that are 100 percent on field goals with a minimum of eight attempts.
The Panthers will try to get back on the right track while facing two West Coast teams in the next two weeks, the San Francisco 49ers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Oct. 9 (4:05 p.m. kickoff) and at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles against the Rams on Oct. 16.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
- Total Net Offense – CAR 220, ARI 338
- Net Yards Passing – CAR 180, ARI 206
- Net Yards Rushing – CAR 40, ARI 132
- 3rd Down Conversions – CAR 2-10 (20%), ARI 6-15 (40%)
- 4th Down Conversions – CAR 1-3 (33%), ARI 0-2 (0.0%)
- Penalties – CAR 6-76, ARI 7-61
- Fumbles Lost – CAR 1, ARI 0
- Interceptions as Turnovers – CAR 2, ARI 1
- Time of Possession – CAR 21:25, ARI 38:35
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
- ARI Kyler Murray 23-32-207, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- CAR Baker Mayfield 22-36-197, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing
- ARI James Conner 15 carries, 55 yards
- ARI Eno Benjamin 5 carries, 36 yards
- CAR Christian McCaffery 8 carries, 27 yards
- ARI Kyler Murray 12 carries, 26 yards, 1 TD
- ARI Darrel Williams 4 carries, 19 yards
- CAR D.J. Moore 1 carry, 11 yards
Receiving
- ARI Marquise Brown 6 catches, 88 yards, 1 TD
- CAR Christian McCaffery 9 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD
- CAR D.J. Moore 6 catches, 50 yards
- ARI Zach Ertz 6 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD
- ARI Trey McBride 3 catches, 24 yards
