There was reason for optimism about the Carolina Panthers entering Sunday’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns, and it lasted until about five minutes into the first quarter.
Despite eventually losing by just two points, 24-22, Carolina had about as bad a start to a game as you could have asked for. The Panthers’ offense was stagnant and the defense gave up chunk plays.
Many believed things could only improve for Carolina’s offense after trading for Baker Mayfield over the offseason. In 2021, Panthers quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Cam Newton and P.J. Walker combined to complete 58.1 percent of their passes for 3,573 yards, 14 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. Surely things couldn’t get worse?
Four of Carolina’s first five drives ended in a punt, and the one that didn’t resulted in a Mayfield interception. The former Cleveland quarterback was supposed to shine in a revenge game against his former team, but he struggled to get the ball to Carolina’s playmakers.
Mayfield managed to fumble four snaps from center Pat Eflein, and though Carolina recovered all of them, things didn’t necessarily go better for the Panthers when their quarterback fielded the snap cleanly.
Mayfield’s first-half interception, somehow his only of the day, was intended for Shi Smith, but the ball was a good seven or eight yards over his head before it fell into the arms of a Browns’ defensive back. On several other occasions, Mayfield — who stands 6-foot even — had his pass batted down at the line by a Cleveland defensive lineman.
Honestly, Carolina’s best offensive play other than a 75-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Anderson, who was 15 yards from the closest defender when he caught the ball, came on a fumbled snap by Mayfield that was recovered by running back Christian McCaffrey and carried the ball 32 yards for a first down. Outside of that, McCaffrey only had 33 rushing yards on 10 carries.
As bad as Mayfield — who finished 16-of-27 for 235 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 37.2 total QBR — looked in the first half, he was hindered by a Carolina offensive line that looked completely overmatched. Rookie left tackle Ickey Ekwonu had problems all day dealing with Myles Garrett, who finished the game with two sacks. Cleveland managed to sack Mayfield four times Sunday and hit him on numerous other plays.
The Carolina defense also looked like a shell of the unit that ranked second in the league in yards per game allowed (305.9) a season ago. The Browns gashed Carolina for 217 rushing yards, 141 of which came from Nick Chubb. Fellow veteran back Kareem Hunt had 11 carries for 46 yards and Cleveland’s only two touchdowns of the game.
The Panthers failed to generate any pass rush, sacking Jacoby Brissett just one time. And when Carolina managed to get some pressure on Cleveland’s final drive, a roughing the passer penalty helped set up the Browns’ eventual game-winning field goal.
The one comforting thing Carolina can probably take from Sunday’s game — other than the possibility that Matt Rhule could be the first coach fired this season — is that the rest of the NFC looked pretty poor in Week 1. The Rams were blown out by the Bills. The Vikings took it to the Packers. The Cowboys were embarrassed on Sunday night. And the Saints needed a good ol’ fashioned Falcons’ collapse to escape with a win.
Carolina has the opportunity to get back to .500 in Week 2 when the team travels to face the Giants, who upset the Titans, 21-20, thanks to a late two-point conversion. New York was led offensively by running back Saquon Barkley, who carried the ball 18 times for 164 yards and a touchdown. Barkley also has history of success against the Panthers, as he caught four passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s last meeting back in 2018. Carolina famously won that game on a 63-yard field goal by Graham Gano as time expired.
If the Panthers play the run in Week 2 like they did in Week 1, Barkley might run for 200 yards. I don’t like their odds after what I saw against Cleveland.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.