Panthers vs. Steelers: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Carolina
The scoreboard may not matter, but the Carolina Panthers rode into the regular season on a high note, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-6 in their preseason finale.
This means that the Panthers finish their slate at 3-1, which is only the sixth winning record the team has ever put up in preseason. While there is almost zero correlation between preseason record and regular season results, it’s at least worth noting for the superstitious that the Panthers have never made the playoffs after a losing record in the preseason. Certainly, all else being equal, it feels better to go 3-1 than 1-3.
The Panthers dominated this game from start to finish. Joe Webb went 17-of-22 for 193 yards and a touchdown; Cameron Artis-Payne, Jordan Todman and Brandon Wegher each had over 60 yards rushing, the receivers were sure-handed and the defensive line barely gave Michael Vick or Landry Jones any time to throw. With starters on both teams taking most of the night on, the Panthers’ backups clearly outplayed the Steelers every step of the way.
The Panthers jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead, with Todman rumbling in from 49 yards out for a score and Marcus Lucas catching a 23-yard touchdown pass for another six points. Each is fighting for a roster spot, so highlights like those will help both of their causes. The second half was more even, with each team managing just a couple of field goals, to provide the final margin.
The Panthers simply were dominant. They had the ball for 12 more minutes than Pittsburgh, gained 15 more first downs and had more than 260 more yards than their Steeler counterparts. It was just the right note to send the Panthers into the regular season, with their opening matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars looming.
Let’s go more in depth and look at some of the stories and events that came out of Carolina’s win.
Grades
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Position | Grade |
QB | B |
RB | A |
WR | B+ |
TE | B |
OL | A |
DL | A |
LB | B+ |
DB | B |
Special Teams | C |
Coaching | C |
Quarterbacks: Derek Anderson and Joe Webb combined to complete 21 of 29 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown—a very solid showing. Webb threw the only touchdown of the bunch, and he looked sharp enough that he may have earned himself another season with the team. He needed a good performance to justify the team keeping three quarterbacks, and he couldn’t have looked much sharper.
Running Backs: A phenomenal performance all around. The Panthers had 226 yards on the ground, averaging a fantastic 5.7 yards per carry. Jordan Todman, Cameron Artis-Payne and Brandon Wegher all had over 60 yards rushing, and Pittsburgh proved unable to slow the rushing attack down in any meaningful fashion.
Wide Receivers: The receivers recovered quite nicely from last week’s dropocalypse. Kevin Norwood and Mike Brown each had more than 30 yards receiving, while Brenton Bersin led all receivers with four receptions. Most importantly, everyone was sure-handed and consistent.
Tight Ends: Lining up both in-line and as a receiver, Marcus Lucas had a couple of receptions for 32 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown. Scott Simonson and Brandon Williams each added receptions of their own.
Offensive Line: No sacks allowed and 5.7 yards per carry equals a pretty amazing night for the Panthers’ offensive line. They also had no false starts and no holds—just one illegal formation penalty early on. With Mike Remmers starting at center and Daryl Williams starting at right tackle, the offensive line went through the game mostly unnoticed—precisely what you want out of them.
Defensive Line: The Steelers had no push, gaining only 57 yards on the ground on 23 carries. Kawann Short, Mario Addison, Rakim Cox and Terry Redden all had sacks, and the team generally asserted its will and dominance over Pittsburgh’s offensive line all night long.
Linebackers: Ben Jacobs has the one non-defensive line sack, and Jason Trusnik led the Panthers with six tackles, including one for a loss. Shaq Thompson had a thudding hit on special teams, and David Mayo made a tackle in the backfield as well.
Defensive Backs: The Steelers’ quarterbacks went 12-of-16, so when they did have time to throw, they found open receivers more often than not. Dean Marlowe had a pass breakup, which is the only thing that showed up on the stat sheet. They allowed multiple pass plays of more than 40 yards, so things could have been cleaner overall, but they kept the Steelers out of the end zone—a bend-but-don’t-break style.
Special Teams: Damiere Byrd struggled significantly, muffing a couple punts and ending up with negative seven yards returning on four punt return attempts. They also allowed a punt to be blocked. Other than that, things went OK—Graham Gano was 3-of-3 on a number of very short field goals, and Brad Nortman had two punts downed inside the 20. The Steelers had zero yards returning.
Coaching: You can question the coaching staff’s decision to play as many starters as they did, even if it was only for part of the first quarter. The decision came back to bite them, as Josh Norman had to leave with an injury.
Josh Norman Leaves with Head Injury
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The good vibes of the win over Pittsburgh are lessened somewhat with the news of yet another injury to a projected starter.
Cornerback Josh Norman left early in the first quarter with what the Panthers later confirmed was a head injury, according to ESPN's David Newton. Norman was injured by friendly fire, as it were, being hit by his own man, either A.J. Klein or Shaq Thompson as the three came together to tackle Martavis Bryant.
This is not Norman’s first concussion. He missed a couple of games last season with a concussion as well. Nor is it the first defensive back concussion the Panthers have suffered this offseason—Charles Tillman has been in the concussion protocol since last week’s preseason contest.
The good news is that a minor concussion takes about five to seven days to have the symptoms go away enough for the player to pass the NFL’s concussion protocols. If it is a less severe injury, that could see Norman miss no time, with 10 days between this game and the opener against Jacksonville. Still, brain injuries are exceptionally difficult to gauge, so it’s entirely possible Norman will miss multiple weeks.
Hindsight is 20/20, but one does have to wonder why Norman was playing in this game, especially with Tillman already injured. It wasn’t just Norman, either—starters Trai Turner, Andrew Norwell, Kawann Short, Kony Ealy, Thompson or Klein and Bene Benwikere all were in the starting lineup this week. With the Panthers’ bad luck with injuries so far this preseason, one has to wonder if a few reps against the Steelers’ backups were worth it.
In the long run, these injuries should never happen—four preseason games is simply one or two too many and should be reduced. Until that happens, injuries will continue to occur in meaningless contests, and the Panthers can add another body to the list of wounded.
No Easy Running Back Cuts
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Before the game, we highlighted the matchup between Jordan Todman and Brandon Wegher for what seems to be just one open running back slot. Both wanted to have big games to really state their cases. Both of them did so, which is great news for the team but makes making a decision between them very difficult.
Todman carried the ball five times for 72 yards, most of it coming on a 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He also had a 24-yard scamper on a 3rd-and-long. It was a very impressive game from the free agent from Jacksonville.
Not to be outdone, Wegher had 64 yards of his own on 17 carries. He didn’t have any plays as big or splashy as Todman, but he was more consistent on a play-by-play basis. Averaging 3.8 yards per carry on 17 carries is a solid day for the undrafted free agent.
So, now the question becomes: Who do they keep? It’s not likely that the Panthers cut Fozzy Whittaker, who had three carries for 18 yards, so it’s going to come down to Todman and Wegher. We can read a couple tea leaves into the battle. Wegher was the last man to get carries in this game, indicating he’s lowest on the depth chart at the moment. Wegher also has practice squad eligibility left, so the Panthers might try to slip him through roster cuts and get him back that way.
My guess is Todman gets the final running back roster slot, but Wegher has made a very solid case. I don’t think the Panthers can go wrong with either player.
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Rookie Report
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It was a great night for the 2015 draft class.
Shaq Thompson started and looked very good in limited action. He had a fanastic block on special teams and continued flying all over the field. He only had three tackles on the night, but he looked fully ready to go for the regular season. He’s earned his starting spot over A.J. Klein.
Devin Funchess had two receptions for 22 yards as he continues to work back from his hamstring injury. His hands looked solid—he adjusted to a pass thrown behind him to pick up a first down. He’s still clearly working his way back into game speed, but he showed promise.
Daryl Williams got the start at right tackle, as Mike Remmers moved to center to cover for the missing Ryan Kalil. While the Panthers might still be in the market for a backup center, Remmers and Williams’ play showed that this is a fine option, at least in an emergency. He was part of the overall great play by the Panthers offensive line and didn’t skip a beat. He’s been the best offensive lineman on the Panthers this preseason, albeit usually against second-team defenses.
David Mayo had just one tackle, but it was to force a two-yard loss in the third quarter. He also broke up a pass a couple of plays later. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if Luke Kuechly ever goes down—either Mayo or Jason Trusnik would step in to replace him, and Mayo has made a strong case it should be him. Not bad for a player no one had heard of before the draft.
Cameron Artis-Payne carried the ball 12 times for 67 yards, a 5.6 yard-per-carry average. He got the start and looked like an every-down back. He found the holes and punched through them, exploiting everything his blockers could get for him. The Panthers have found their replacement for DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart’s primary backup.
Ron Rivera: A “Good Showing”
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For perhaps the first time all preseason, Ron Rivera seemed fully pleased with the performance of his team, according to Panthers.com: "It was a good showing. A lot of young guys did good things with their opportunities," said Rivera, who will now turn his attention to the task of trimming the roster from 75 players to 53 by Saturday. "We're going to have to make some decisions that will be hard."
Rivera was critical of aspects of the team’s performance in the first two preseason wins, and while he was more pleased with the performance against the Patriots last week, the stigma of a loss always negatively colors post-game analysis. This week, though, Rivera had nothing but positive things to say.
He “feels really good about running back depth,” according to Panthers.com's Max Henson. Shaq Thompson had “some positives," and Rivera was “very pleased” with the work Devin Funchess put in, according to beat reporter Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer and Henson, respectively.
In the aftermath of a dominant performance, there’s not much you can criticize. The Panthers executed their game plan to near perfection, all of the young players who had to step up to try to earn jobs did so, and there was an absence of the normal penalties and mistakes that are normally prevalent in preseason games. Rivera and his coaching staff will have some hard decisions to make, but it’s always better for it to be because of too many good players than holes with no one to fill them.
Jordan Todman: Been Waiting for This
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Jordan Todman has been waiting to really make an impact on offense this preseason. It finally came in the fourth preseason game, and it was worth the wait.
"I've been waiting for a while to bust a big one, to have a big play," said Todman, via the Panthers official website. "It took until the fourth preseason game to showcase, but better late than never.
Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer quoted Todman talking about the play call that led to his 49-yard touchdown scamper: "It was a great call. DA (Derek Anderson) made an audible at the line, and the offensive line picked up the blocks very well. I was able to shrug off a tackle and then it was off to the races. I was able to use my speed to split the safeties."
As mentioned, Todman is in a battle with Brandon Wegher for likely one roster spot. Todman had just 62 rushing yards on 12 carries coming into this matchup; his 72 yards here more than doubled his season total. Coming into the night, the argument for him over Wegher boiled down to his greater experience and his skill on special teams; this game allowed him to show off what he can do when the ball is placed in his hands on offense.
Devin Funchess: “Felt Great”
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The Panthers have been waiting and waiting for Devin Funchess to get back on the field. The second-round pick hadn’t played since the first preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, as he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury. He came back in this one, catching two of his three targets for 22 yards.
Max Henson quoted him after the game saying, “It felt great. I was trying to get back. They gave me the go-ahead and I felt I did well out there.”
It wasn’t a performance that is going to light up message boards or generate tons of highlights, but it was a solid performance from a player the Panthers really need this year, with Kelvin Benjamin out for the entire season. They need Funchess to play the role of the large rookie with solid hands—his potential, if he develops as expected, is greater than anyone else active in the receiving corps at the moment.
Based on the fact that he only played two preseason games, I wouldn’t expect Funchess to be a starter come the season opener against Jacksonville. By the end of the season, however, it would be a disappointment if Funchess couldn’t fight his way into the regular starting lineup.
Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers. Follow him @BryKno on twitter.
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