What are the most important takeaways from the Carolina Panthers’ 17-10 defeat to the Tennessee Titans?
Here are our biggest observations from the 10th loss of the painful campaign:
Evaluating Bryce Young is a near-impossible task
What do the Panthers have in Bryce Young? Good luck trying to find out.
It’s pretty difficult to evaluate a young quarterback if his offensive line cannot protect him or if his receivers cannot get open. Unfortunately for Young, his offensive line cannot protect him and his receivers cannot get open.
This year’s No. 1 overall pick was, yet again, failed by his supporting cast. Sunday’s outing somehow resulted in 194 passing yards and a 76.5 passer rating (that’s pretty good around these parts) for Young, who was pressured nearly 20 times and was forced to eat four sacks.
The 22-year-old has now been taken down for 40 sacks on the season, the fifth-most for a quarterback through his first 10 career games. And a decent amount of those takedowns materialized from poor separation downfield.
Although there’s something to be said about elevating the guys around you, what is there to elevate in Carolina? The Panthers simply do not have the right weapons, a reliable line nor—at least thus far—the best coaching for the player Young is.
Evaluating Derrick Brown is much more fun
While it’s tough to evaluate Young, it’s not nearly as murky (or depressing) to determine what the Panthers have in a fellow first-round draft pick. And now, through the 11th game of his fourth season, it may be clear that said first-round draft pick is living up to the billing.
Brown, just as he’s been all season, was the most impressive defender for Carolina this afternoon. The 6-foot-5, 320-pounder was all over the field, as he recorded five tackles and a pass defensed.
His effort led yet another admirable outing from the defense, which allowed just 264 yards and turned the Titans away on nine of their 11 third-down tries. Oh, and it also moved him seven tackles off his career-high mark of 67 from a season ago.
After a few years of trying to find his way, Brown has become the seventh overall pick the franchise drafted him to be.
A change may be coming (very soon)
Prior to kickoff, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that the Panthers will likely wait until the end of the season to make a decision on head coach Frank Reich’s future. But based off owner David Tepper’s mood after the loss, something may be ending soon.
Joe Person of The Athletic noted that Tepper was visibly (and audibly) upset as he exited the locker room. Person then asked Reich if he had spoken with Tepper at the time—and he hadn’t.
FOX’s Will Kunkel, a former team beat writer, would later add that Reich’s coaching seat is “on fire.”
So, even if it isn’t Reich’s job, something has to change and it has to change quickly.
