Things haven’t felt this exciting around the Carolina Panthers since Cam Newton shouted, “I’m back!” 56 long weeks ago. But while Newton’s cry was a swan song, Sunday’s win under interim coach Steve Wilks could inspire an encore.
“That’s a playoff team that we played, a good football team,” Wilks said Sunday after the Panthers defeated the Seahawks. “To be able to get a win like this on the road, in a hostile environment (against) the 12th man, I think it’s definitely a momentum-builder for us. And we definitely have to continue to build off this. We got to go home and protect the bank.”
Sunday’s win was the type of signature victory that molds skeptics into believers. Panthers owner David Tepper plans on casting a wide search for the team’s next head coach. When the season ends, Carolina must conduct in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates, per the Rooney Rule. There will be other hot names that surface during the next four weeks, as well, but barring a collapse, impeding what Wilks is building would be reckless.
Continuity is underappreciated. Replacing coaches and general managers sounds revolutionary, but each new regime comes with a different vision. Manifesting a vision takes time. Wilks planted the seeds of his vision in Week 6 after taking over for former coach Matt Rhule. Nine weeks later, the Panthers have bloomed into a hard-nosed, inspired NFL team.
Wilks’ fourth victory was the first road win of the Panthers’ season. Wilks won three games in 2018 as the Arizona Cardinals’ coach. Carolina (5-8) gained a game on the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7), who lost to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
The Panthers demoralized Seattle by carrying the ball 46 times for 223 yards. The defense held the Seahawks to a season-low 26 rushing yards. In the fourth quarter, Carolina bulldozed an exhausted Seahawks defense, gaining 101 rushing yards on 15 carries. The Panthers’ fourth-quarter time of possession doubled Seattle’s.
“It was super frustrating. Unbelievable. It makes you sick in the stomach. Stuff like that, I’m not going to sleep on that tonight, because that just irritates my soul,” Seahawks safety Ryan Neal said. “When you come into the game knowing that’s how they’re going to play, you just have to strap up and be ready to go four quarters. It’s going to be a four-quarter game, and teams like that, that’s how they like to play.”
Carolina runs a simple offense predicated on winning at the line of scrimmage and protecting the football. Late in the fourth quarter (after calling four consecutive unsuccessful goal-to-go passes in the third quarter), offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo kept spamming the Seahawks with runs.
It did not matter that Seattle knew what was coming. McAdoo knew his offensive line could not be stopped.
“I mean, they ran the same play over and over and over,” safety Quandre Diggs said. “At some point, you have to take a stand and know that, ‘I’m going to take my shot here.’ That’s what it has to be. Like I said, it’s tough to see.”
By upsetting Seattle, the Panthers now control their playoff destiny. If they defeat Pittsburgh, Detroit, Tampa Bay and New Orleans in their remaining games, they would reach the postseason for the first time under Tepper’s ownership.
Wilks is cultivating a winning culture.
Here is a closer look at how the Panthers can keep their momentum rolling.
Keep forcing turnovers
Carolina forced Seattle quarterback Geno Smith into his first multi-turnover game of the season. Smith — who entered Sunday completing a league-high 72% of his passes — threw two first-half interceptions. The Panthers capitalized. Carolina’s 20:46 minutes of possession was a season-high in the first half. Simultaneously, Seattle’s nine minutes with the ball were a season-low for the Panthers’ defense.
Time of possession only increases by converting first downs. Carolina complied 12 first-half first downs and went 5 of 8 (63%) on the critical down in the first 30 minutes. Both marks are season-highs.
Though the game was close throughout and came down to an onside kick recovery by cornerback Jaycee Horn, the Panthers’ early interceptions swung the game heavily in their favor.
“We knew we were going to have to make plays and give our offense more opportunities,” Horn said. “When I got the pick I kept saying ‘we’re not done yet’ because it was earlier in the game. We stayed locked in throughout four quarters and walked away with the win.”
Horn waved goodbye to Seahawks fans after recovering the game-sealing onside kick. He was arguably the best player on Lumen Field. Horn limited Seahawks Pro Bowler receiver DK Metcalf to 20 yards under his previous three-game average.
Carolina has a plethora of ways to turn teams over. Horn and cornerback C.J. Henderson each proved capable of interceptions on Sunday while edge rushers Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu are natural disruptors as well.
Close games should favor Carolina
When the Panthers are victorious, it’s because of their running game. Quarterback Sam Darnold attempted just 24 passes and had a 5-yard average depth of target. Laviska Shenault led all Panthers receivers with four catches for 31 yards.
DJ Moore did not record a catch. The Panthers’ longest passing play was 18 yards. Carolina did not need explosive plays to win. Instead, methodical drives kept Smith and the Seahawks’ offense off the field.
“Being able to get downhill, run the ball, and do what you want in the run game is a great feeling for offensive linemen,” guard Austin Corbett said. “There’s nothing they can do to stop it. It’s an awesome feeling.”
Four of the Panthers six scoring drives took nine plays or more. The offense moved methodically. Running back Raheem Blackshear had the team’s longest rush (16 yards). D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard combined for 148 yards (4.2 yards per carry) but neither had a rush longer than 12 yards.
“Those (12-yard) runs are going to pop,” Wilks said. “When you spread it out the way we did yesterday, we really tried to take the workload off of one person. I thought all those guys stepped up and perform well.”
Close games require excellence in the kicking game, too. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro is a perfect complement to the Panthers run-first mentality.
Piñeiro having Pro Bowl season
Piñeiro scored Carolina’s first and final points on Sunday.
He was a perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts of 47, 32, and 39 yards. He also went 3-for-3 on point-after tries.
Piñeiro is having a Pro Bowl season. His 96 points scored are ninth-most in the league. He’s second in field goals made percentage with 92.6%. Piñeiro is tied for ninth with 11 field goals made from 40-plus yards.
He’s the Panthers’ steady Eddy, and his effectiveness is winning Carolina games.
“The guys as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, rallied behind Eddy as well as myself. I’m proud of the way he’s bounced back and the consistency that he’s operating on right now,” Wilks said. “It really builds confidence within the team to know that you are in a situation where you can get points on the board, and Eddy has performed well.”
