Panthers' Offensive Struggles in Playoff Loss Fall on Team's Lack of Playmakers

Today's NFL is a game of mismatches. 

In a league that becomes more pass-happy each season, the Carolina Panthers enter every contest at an distinct disadvantage due to an inability by the team's wide receivers to consistently make plays. 

The Panthers' wide receivers combined for 13 receptions for 135 yards Saturday during a 31-17 loss in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. 

If Kelvin Benjamin, who was the team's first-round pick in May's NFL draft, is excluded from the equation, Carolina's second, third and fourth receivers were basically nonexistent. Jerricho Cotchery, Philly Brown and Brenton Bersin only managed five catches for 60 yards. 

Due to the specialized nature of current offenses, this level of production isn't enough for the Panthers to consistently play winning football.

Bottom line: Quarterback Cam Newton needs more help from his wide receivers than he received this past season. 

Anyone who watched the Panthers this season, such as Rivals.com's Anwar Richardson, immediately notices the team's lack of playmakers at the position: 

It's a situation that was forced upon the team due to poor cap management and an inability to retain any of its top four wide receivers from last year's 12-4 campaign. The Panthers were forced to start anew and continued to see similar results from the position instead of improving upon the roster. 

Year	Receptions	Yardage	YPC	Touchdowns
2013	156	1,983	12.7	15
2014	177	2,252	12.7	14

Newton needed to adjust quickly and develop a rapport with a rookie. The fourth-year quarterback also relied heavily on his veteran tight end, Greg Olsen. Newton has issues of his own he needs to work on, but the quarterback still needs the proper talent around him to thrive. 

When facing the NFL's top-ranked pass defense with the Panthers' core of wide receivers, that's not a situation where Newton can or should be expected to excel in the passing game. 

It takes a little more to get open against the Seahawks' Legion of Boom secondary. Receivers need to win one-on-one matchups. They have to gain yards after the catch. They will also be asked to fight for balls to secure catches. Seattle's defense doesn't allow any free passes. 

Only Benjamin proved up to the task with seven receptions for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Although, 43 of those yards and one of the touchdowns came late in the fourth quarter after Seattle already built a 21-point lead. 

The Seahawks never felt threatened, though, and it showed in their approach to the Panthers offense. 

Newton was intercepted once and nearly two other times. Each was a result of the Seattle secondary driving on the football, because it didn't believe it could be beat over the top by the Panthers' wide receivers, and Newton didn't have any other choice but to try and force passes into small windows. 

The quarterback admitted he grew impatient during the game, via The Charlotte Observer's Joseph Person. 

"

When you’re playing a great defense you have to take what they give. A lot of times I was kind of overlooking the play that needed to be made and instead trying to make the bigger play. But when we started doing that, we started to move the ball.

But at the end we felt desperate. But yet one thing we have to learn from this and moving forward, great teams build from this.

"

The results obviously proved disastrous once Seattle safety Kam Chancellor picked off Newton at the Seahawks' 10-yard line and galloped 90 yards in the other direction for a touchdown to secure the victory. 

Seattle, meanwhile, was able to exploit a young Panthers secondary with its cadre of no-name wide receivers. 

Jermaine Kearse shredded Carolina's defense with 129 receiving yards. Kearse never had a 100-yard receiving effort as a professional until Saturday's contest. Seattle was still able to exploit a mismatch during the contest even against one of the league's best young nickel cornerbacks in Bene Benwikere. 

Kearse beat one-on-one coverage against Benwikere to snag a tremendous one-handed grab (see: below) and complete a 63-yard touchdown connection. 

"

Jermaine Kearse with a fantastic grab for the touchdown https://t.co/RqKBfKqNZg

— Jose Rivera (@Jose8BS) January 11, 2015"

Earlier in the contest, Doug Baldwin scored the game's first touchdown courtesy of a beautiful touch pass from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Baldwin was able to catch Panthers safety Tre Boston, who was in man coverage, on his heels and beat the defensive back over the top for the score.

Whereas the Panthers receivers struggled to make plays, the Seahawks' top targets stepped up and put their team in a position to win. 

Carolina does possess legitimate talent in other areas of the offense, though. 

It starts with Newton at quarterback. Jonathan Stewart is a talented running back who can carry an offense at times. Olsen is a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end. And most of the issues along the offensive line—at least from left guard to right tackle—were solved during the second half of the season. 

But Newton can't continue to rely solely on Benjamin at wide receiver. While the Florida State product will continue to improve as he matures, a secondary threat is needed for the offense to fully function. 

Without a legitimate No. 2 target, whether it's an outside or slot receiver, opposing defenses will continue to roll coverage toward Benjamin. They'll be able to walk a safety up into the box to help against the run. And Newton will continue to get banged up, because those same defenses will blitz him heavily in obvious passing situations without any fear of the Panthers receivers beating the backside coverage. 

While Seattle's secondary is a different type of animal than most NFL secondaries, Saturday's contest proved to be a microcosm of what the Panthers can and cannot do in this stage of their development. 

A lack of playmakers at wide receivers will continue to hinder the team's and Newton's development unless the position is properly addressed during the offseason. 

The Panthers can't expect to continue winning division titles with its current level of production at wide receiver. They won't. Even if they do, the team will quickly discover it's outgunned in they playoffs yet again. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.