It’s hard to blame one athlete on a team sport for a loss. It is even harder to blame a kicker on a football roster that consists of 53 players. However, for the second week in a row, the Carolina Panthers came up short of a victory at the hands of their placekicker Graham Gano. The Panthers dropped to 6-5 after the 30-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
It was a highly anticipated game, as the Panthers and Seahawks have developed a ‘mini-rivalry’ of sorts and have competed in a few tight games in the Cam Newton era. Newton outdueled Russell Wilson for much of the game Sunday and did what he needed to put his team in a position to win. Running back Christian McCaffrey had a career-best performance, tallying 239 total yards from scrimmage. However, missed opportunities in the red zone plagued the Panthers again and it cost them at the end of the game.
A Tale of Missed Opportunities: How the Carolina Panthers managed to Spoil Christian McCaffrey’s Big Day
Oh No, Graham Gano
Last year, the Panthers drafted Harrison Butker as they looked to replace the inconsistent Gano with a much cheaper and younger option. However, Gano out-dueled the rookie placekicker in the off-season and forced the Panthers to release Butker at the beginning of the season. Butker eventually was picked up by the Chiefs and has had a solid career since then.
Gano went on to have a solid 2017 campaign. Was he perfect? No, but he proved that he could still be a reliable option for the Panthers and was awarded a four-year contract this past off-season. He certainly has not lived up to his contract this season, missing a pivotal field goal and an extra point last Sunday versus the Detroit Lions and then a potential go-ahead 52-yard field goal against the Seahawks with under two minutes to go. As previously stated, it is hard to blame one kicker when there were a few missed opportunities throughout both games, but if Gano hits two of his three misses the past two games the Panthers are 8-3, not 6-5.
Warm it Up, Chris!
McCaffrey has had himself a spectacular season in 2018 and the second-year back outdid himself with a 239-yard performance against Seattle on Sunday. It was by far the best game of his career running between the tackles and McCaffrey has his offensive line to thank for that. He finished with 125 rushing yards on 17 carries and one rushing touchdown thanks to holes like this one.
Christian McCaffrey is having a day ??#SEAvsCAR pic.twitter.com/kmBocUuZvb
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 25, 2018
Per usual, he was a large factor in the passing game as well. McCaffrey added 112 receiving yards on 11 receptions and scored another touchdown. It was his first career game in which the back recorded over 100 yards in both rushing and receiving, looking like the back he was while playing at Stanford.
Missed Opportunities Cont…
It sounds like a broken record, but this team fails to capitalize on all their opportunities. While the offense was phenomenal and dropped 476 yards on Pete Carroll’s Seahawks, the team only managed 27 points. To give you an idea of how effective they were, Carolina had nine offensive possessions and only punted once all game.
In their first possession of the game, the Panthers drove 71 yards all the way to the five-yard line, all to be stopped on a failed fourth-down conversion. Norv Turner called for a designed quarterback run for Newton and the offensive line was not able to get enough push. A more creative play design or a field goal results in points for the Panthers and they do not need a last-minute field goal from Gano at the end of the game.
The first possession of the second half was almost identical to the one of the first half. The Panthers drove 54 yards and were threatening inside the red zone. One a first and 10 play from the Seahawks 18-yard line, Carolina decided to run a play for backup tight end Christian Manhertz and Newton’s pass was intercepted. With so many different weapons and still three more downs to work with, the Panthers had better options. Calling a play for your third-string tight end just leaves fans scratching their head wondering what the heck just happened.
Weekly Cam Newton Shoutout
Newton was a perfect 14-of-14 in the first half and finished the game going 25-of-30 with 256 passing yards and two touchdowns. His one blemish, the lone interception in the red zone, nonetheless, still put his team in a position to win the game. Newton has performed at an exceptional level this year and has really thrived in Turner’s offense. He also added 63 rushing yards giving the quarterback another 300-yard game. The former Heisman-winning quarterback has been performing at an MVP level this season.
Last Word
The Panthers 2018 season may go down as one of the ‘worst’ good teams in recent NFL history. With so much talent on the roster, Carolina is simply better than a 6-5 team through 11 games. But missed opportunities, poor playcalling, and ineffective defensive gameplans have plagued Carolina this season. A team that was once in a comfortable lead and controlled their own destiny for a wild-card berth now looks like they are in the danger of falling out of playoff contention.
