Falcons vs. Panthers: Carolina Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Panthers are cruising, the Falcons continue to flounder and Carolina rolled to an easy 38-0 victory over Atlanta on Sunday.
The competitive portion of this game lasted roughly 10 minutes, as the Panthers dominated from whistle to whistle in their best performance of the season—at least, in terms of raw numbers. Their first drive destroyed Atlanta on the ground, with Jonathan Stewart putting up a season-high 44-yard run before plunging into the end zone. Their second and third drives featured Ted Ginn slipping past the defense and hauling in two long touchdown receptions of 74 and 46 yards, and the rout was on.
It was a far cry from the matchup it could have been, early in the season when both teams were undefeated and sitting on top of the division. It was unclear at that point how real either team was—Carolina, for example, had some unconvincing wins against some relatively poor teams. In Week 6 or so, this would have been a serious statement game, defining the NFC South race early on.
Instead, it was just the playoff-bound Panthers matching their largest win in franchise history over a team that has imploded. Their previous record was a 38-0 victory over the New York Giants in 2013; the Panthers reached a 38-point lead before the third quarter was over this week.
The Panthers are now on a 17-game regular-season win streak, tied for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. They’ve run for 100 or more yards in 24 consecutive games, tied for the eighth-longest streak in NFL history. Their always tough defense has suddenly been joined by a juggernaut offense—they’ve scored at least 20 points in every game this season, and 30 or more in their last three contests. Everything is going perfectly for the still-perfect Panthers, who have now clinched a bye week with three games left to go.
The list of 13-0 teams in professional football history is filled with some of the best teams to ever play the game. That list has the 1934 Chicago Bears, with Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski pounding the ball down people’s throats. There’s the 1948 Cleveland Browns, the best team the old AAFC ever saw. There’s the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team in NFL history to complete the perfect season. There’s the 1998 Denver Broncos, with John Elway and Terrell Davis. There’s the 2005 and 2009 Indianapolis Colts behind Peyton Manning’s greatest seasons. There’s the 2007 New England Patriots, who won their first 18 games before falling in the Super Bowl. There's the 2009 New Orleans Saints, who won the only Super Bowl in franchise history, and the 2011 Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rodgers.
Now you can add the 2015 Carolina Panthers to that list. Records keep falling, and wins keep happening. If they keep playing like they did on Sunday, no team in the NFL is going to be able to stop them.
Grades
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Quarterbacks: A
Cam Newton set a personal best with a 153.3 quarterback rating. He only threw for 265 yards, but that’s because he left the game before the end of the third quarter, having already thrown three touchdowns. Derek Anderson completed four of his six passes in relief, including a bullet at the end of the second quarter when Newton had to leave the game for a play.
Running Backs: A
In the first half, Jonathan Stewart carried the ball 10 times for 75 yards and a score and then sat down with a foot injury. No worries—Fozzy Whittaker entered in the second half for eight carries, 34 yards and another score. Stewart also caught a 14-yard pass, and Mike Tolbert had a couple of receptions of his own.
Wide Receivers: A
No drops for Ted Ginn this week—he caught two long bombs for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter to break the game wide open. Corey Brown had three receptions for 59 yards, and both Devin Funchess and Jerricho Cotchery had a couple of receptions.
Tight Ends: B+
Greg Olsen caught three passes for 52 yards in the first half before leaving with a knee injury. Newton immediately found his replacement, Ed Dickson, for a touchdown on the very next play. Scott Simonson also picked up the first reception of his career in the second half.
Offensive Line: A-
The offensive line did allow a couple of sacks on Cam Newton and forced him to escape a few pressures, but they mostly gave him enough time to hit deep passes when the game was still slightly competitive. They also opened up enough room on the ground for the Panthers to average 4.4 yards per carry. And this week, it was primarily running backs being blocked by the line, rather than Newton dashing to the outside.
Defensive Line: A
The Falcons managed just 54 yards rushing and 3.4 yards per carry, despite the presence of the dangerous Devonta Freeman. Kawann Short had a pair of sacks and forced a fumble, Kyle Love and Mario Addison had sacks of their own and the defensive line generally swarmed over their counterparts from Atlanta.
Linebackers: A
Luke Kuechly had an interception late in the second half, and A.J. Klein and Thomas Davis each had a sack. Klein and Davis both forced fumbles, as well, as the Panthers forced the Falcons to turn the ball over four times.
Secondary: A
Matt Ryan threw for 224 yards with an interception, and backup quarterback Sean Renfree added another interception via Kurt Coleman late in the game. The matchup between Josh Norman and Julio Jones was a victory for Norman; Jones did catch seven passes for 88 yards, but most of that was on one 46-yard reception in garbage time. Coleman led the team in tackles, as well, while Roman Harper had a pass breakup of his own.
Special Teams: C
Ted Ginn made a couple of questionable fair-catch calls on punt returns that ended up not mattering, thanks to his long touchdown receptions, but it’s still worth noting. The return unit also allowed a long return to Devin Hester on a kickoff, forcing Graham Gano to make the tackle and putting him in the concussion protocol.
Coaching: A
This was all game plan. The Panthers came out with a perfect game plan, exploding out of the blocks to take an early lead. Mike Shula’s schemes got Ginn matched up against a linebacker on one of his long touchdown receptions—it’s always good to get mismatches. The staff also made the wise decision to pull Newton and the rest of the starters when the game became a blowout. Rivera also won a challenge in the third quarter.
Panthers Explode out of the Blocks
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Carolina opened the game on offense—a rarity, as it usually defers to the second half when it wins the coin toss. Atlanta was hoping to get an early stop to build some momentum in order to take the crowd out of the game and make things a little easier for the underdogs.
It didn’t work out that way.
Carolina set a franchise record for most yards in a quarter, per 247Sports, putting up 260 yards in the first 15 minutes of the game. That included touchdown passes of 74 and 46 yards to Ginn, who made up for some drops last week with sure hands and blazing speed to help propel the Panthers to a 21-0 early lead. The 260 yards were also the most yards any NFL team has put up in a single quarter this season, per Connor Orr of NFL.com.
The few times the offense did misfire, the defense stepped up. They limited Atlanta to just 96 yards in the first half, forcing four punts and sacking Matt Ryan twice. Atlanta only had one or two drives in which it was remotely threatening to put points on the board, but each time the Panthers would come up with a big sack or a key pass breakup, forcing Atlanta to punt.
Atlanta was always going to be an underdog coming in, but its one hope of winning this game was to keep Carolina in check early, preventing it from jumping to an early lead and demoralizing the team. That failed spectacularly, and the rout was on from the very beginning. It seemed fairly clear from the opening whistle which team was significantly better than the other.
Injuries Pile Up
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The one negative note for the Panthers this game was on the health front, as the sideline looked a little like a triage center at various points.
The most severe injury appears to be to Bene Benwikere, who was carted off the field with a left leg injury in the fourth quarter. Benwikere has been starting while Charles Tillman has been sidelined, and he has been playing quite well. The Panthers can ill afford to be without two of their top three cornerbacks as they head down the stretch run.
On offense, neither Greg Olsen nor Jonathan Stewart played in the second half. Olsen went down in the end zone late in the second quarter, clutching his knee. He was standing on the sideline during the second half, though, per Jeremy Igo of CarolinaHuddle.com, so that’s a very positive sign. It’s possible that he was benched because of the 28-0 halftime lead, as opposed to the severity of his injury. Stewart might be in the same boat; he was checked out with a sprained foot and did not play in the second half.
David Mayo suffered a hamstring injury in the second half, and Colin Jones had a groin injury in the second quarter. Neither returned.
Even players who finished the game had issues. Newton had to come out for a play with some sort of left-hand injury, Kuechly needed to have his ankles re-taped and kicker Graham Gano had to go through the concussion protocol after making a tackle. All three returned to the game.
The Panthers’ biggest opponent for the rest of the regular season will be health—you can’t wrap the entire team in bubble wrap for three weeks and hope for the best. The nightmare scenario for the Panthers is losing a key contributor just before the playoffs, as it looks like they have done with Benwikere likely going on IR, per Ron Rivera. The perfect season is by far a secondary concern compared with making sure that this team gets to the playoffs in good condition.
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Panthers Clinch a Bye Week
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The victory over Atlanta moves the Panthers to 13-0. Both the Packers and Vikings already had four losses coming into Week 14, so the win means that Carolina has clinched a bye week in the playoffs.
This is very important. The extra week off gives players time to heal from injuries, both major ones and the relatively minor wear-and-tear that players pick up through the course of a 16-game season. It also means they’ll get a home game against a team that has had to play a tough playoff game the week before, further giving the Panthers an advantage.
It’s certainly not a guaranteed ticket to the conference game, of course. Last year, the rested Denver Broncos lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional playoffs, and the Panthers lost two years ago with a bye week when the San Francisco 49ers rolled into town. Still, teams with bye weeks in the divisional round win about three-quarters of the time, so it’s obviously very beneficial to have one.
Next up on the agenda is clinching home-field advantage. Not only does that mean the Panthers would get to play their entire playoff slate in the friendly confines of Bank of America Stadium, but it also would avoid a situation where they would have to play the top wild-card survivor. The 2013 San Francisco 49ers were only a fifth seed because of the equally great Seattle Seahawks that season and were thus a particularly tough draw for the two-seeded Panthers. Had the Panthers been the top seed that year, they would instead have gotten to play the New Orleans Saints, whom they had beaten in Week 16.
This year, the top seed in the NFC likely means avoiding the NFC North champion—either Green Bay or Minnesota. While the Panthers did beat the Packers earlier this season, they’d prefer playing a team with a worse record, in general.
Only the Arizona Cardinals could still top the Panthers for the top seed. A Carolina win over the New York Giants and an Arizona loss to Philadelphia would clinch home-field advantage before Christmas.
Ron Rivera: Plan Is to “Keep Taking Care of Business”
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With most of the NFC already in their rear-view mirror, the primary issue the Panthers have at the moment is juggling the roster to make sure they’re healthy and well-rested for the playoffs. For now, however, coach Ron Rivera says the plan is to “keep taking care of business,” per ESPN’s David Newton.
Obviously, the Panthers can’t just rest for a month and get ready for their playoff matchup. They have three games left in the regular season, including a tricky road trip to the New York Giants next week, followed by a road trip against these Falcons and then a Jan. 3 date with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While they’ll be rightfully favored in all three games, it’s not a cakewalk to a perfect season by any stretch of the imagination.
At a certain point, however, the Panthers will have to figure out how to balance keeping the team rolling with the health of their players. It was easier last season, when the Panthers had to keep winning down to the wire, but this year, the Panthers could have everything sewn up with two weeks remaining. The team can’t bench everyone, but the large number of injuries and near-injuries suffered in this game should be enough for Panthers fans to be a little wary going forward.
Rivera’s done a great job coaching this season, both in preparation and on game days. His next challenge will be balancing short-term success and long-term health.
Ted Ginn: “I Owe All My Success to Cam Newton”
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Ginn caught two long-bomb touchdowns in the first quarter—his seventh and eighth touchdown receptions of the season. His previous career high was five touchdown passes, which he had in 2013 with Carolina. He has never even caught two touchdown passes in any other season—he’s only caught six touchdown passes outside of a Carolina uniform, fewer than his total for just this season.
He’s up to 645 yards receiving on the season, the second most in a single season behind 2008 in Miami. The Ted Ginn in Carolina is a dangerous deep threat; the Ted Ginn everywhere else has been a good punt returner but a liability on offense.
Ginn knows whom to credit for that. "I give all my success to Cam Newton. Without him, there is no Ted Ginn,” he said, per Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer.
Newton’s passer rating when targeting Ginn is 85.0. All other quarterbacks combined have a QB rating of just 63.6. Newton averages 8.59 yards per attempt, while all other quarterbacks average just 6.67 yards per attempt.
It’s not just because Ginn has played with horrible quarterbacks outside of Carolina, either—Alex Smith and Carson Palmer are Pro Bowlers, and Colin Kaepernick led the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Still, there’s something special when Ginn and Newton hook up. It might be the fact that Newton, if anything, overthrows people, and Ginn is very difficult to overthrow, or perhaps it’s just Newton’s confidence and willingness to keep looking Ginn’s way after drops. Whatever it is, it’s worked for Carolina.
Charles Johnson: Upset?
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Take this with a very large grain of salt, but Charles Johnson had an interesting tweet or two after the game.
“Good game overall as a TEAM!! ? what's the point of having good pass rushers if u sit them at the beginning of the 4 quarter #KeepPounding”
“I thought passer rusher are for situation like today!! Guess not.”
It’s an odd series of tweets and probably much ado about nothing. Johnson has not been a particularly me-first sort of player in his career, and the tweets were sent in the heat of the moment after the game, when the starting defense was benched for the fourth quarter. Johnson is a very competitive player, one who has missed significant time this season with injuries, as well. He likely wanted to get a chance to record a sack, as the Panthers were rolling over the Falcons at the time.
Still, it shows the potential difficulties Ron Rivera will have when deciding who plays when down the stretch. Most players in the NFL want to play all the snaps all the time, and sitting and watching someone else take their place can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow. The Carolina locker room seems well put-together and relatively drama-free, so I wouldn’t expect there to be any major grumblings as the season winds down, but it may be something to keep an eye on.
Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers. Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.
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