The winds of change may be blowing for the feel-good story of PJ Walker and the Carolina Panthers after a disastrous performance in Week 9.
While former XFL standout stole many hearts in his three admirable starts, his fourth (and horrific showing) in Sunday’s 42-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals may keep him from getting to No. 5. Walker connected on just three of his 10 passing attempts for nine yards and two interceptions.
His outing propelled the Panthers to just 32 total yards in the first half, about five times less than the output of Bengals running Joe Mixon to that point. Carolina also trailed big on the scoreboard, hitting the break with the largest halftime deficit (35 points) in franchise history.
Then, Baker Mayfield was inserted to start the third quarter. And from there, the offense immediately started clicking.
Mayfield ended up leading scoring drives on three of his four offensive possessions in the relief appearance. He finished having completed 14 of his 20 throws for 155 yards and a pair of scores.
Interim head Steve Wilks, who (obviously) would not name a starter in his postgame presser, will have to make a tough decision. He’ll also have to make that quickly, with the Atlanta Falcons awaiting on a quick turnaround for a Thursday night showdown.
What could make this choice difficult is Walker’s career-high 317-yard passing output against this NFC South foe just two games ago. Heck, even Sam Darnold could throw his hat into the ring of this battle soon enough.
So, with each quarterback carrying his respective flaws—which all have outweighed their positives thus far—Wilks has an intriguing path to choose in the coming days.
