Dark clouds threatened the city for hours, and EverBank Field was cleared of players and fans for twenty minutes due to lightning in the area, but as the third preseason game got underway in Jacksonville, Panthers fans got what they wanted almost immediately when Cam Newton led the Panthers on a near-perfect opening drive which featured mostly running plays and a strike to Kelvin Benjamin for the touchdown to finish. And with that, the franchise quarterback’s day was over, his expected eight to ten play ‘pitch count’ having been exhausted with one long drive.
Almost as if on cue, the light drizzle turned into a downpour.
Newton started the night with six straight handoffs, four to Jonathan Stewart for 42 yards and two to McCaffrey for eight before attempting his first pass, a checkdown to the rookie which went for 12 yards. After another two handoffs to McCaffrey, Newton uncorked a frozen rope to Kelvin Benjamin, running a slant route, on third down from the nine-yard-line for the score. While it was a short night for Newton, head coach Ron Rivera was happy with what he saw from his quarterback in the 24-23 win over the Jaguars. “There were some things we wanted to accomplish, we wanted to come out and establish a physical football game,” the coach said about the first drive. “He did what he was supposed to, he read the defenses, he made the right calls, he did what he was supposed to with the football.” Newton was also satisfied with his performance, especially after Rivera put an emphasis on physicality after last week’s game in Nashville. “We talked all week about being physical. We wanted to come out and set the tone, our operation was clean, the offensive line and backs did an unbelievable job,” said Newton. “I just wish I would have played a little longer. I feel behind in a lot of ways.” With Newton taking less reps, he says that he has to take full advantage of the time that he does get. Will he be ready for Week 1 if he can’t play next week in Pittsburgh?
“Absolutely.”
While the focus was on Newton for the evening, once he went to the bench, the Panthers offense looked mostly sluggish behind an ineffective night from backup quarterback Derek Anderson. Anderson, who has struggled so far this preseason, was erratic and inaccurate, not only making bad decisions, but unable to hit his receivers, culminating in a poor throw into double coverage to tight end Ed Dickson when he had an open dumpoff to running back Fozzy Whittaker that would have been a positive play. Anderson finished 10-for-19 for 66 yards and an interception in about a half of work.
While Newton was certainly the biggest positive to come out of the game, the Panthers first team defense also played well, particularly the defensive line, which seemed to be in the backfield for almost every play. Aside from a 51-yard fake punt, the Jaguars first team offense could only manage 86 yards from scrimmage in quarterback Chad Henne’s first start of the preseason. The running backs averaged only 2.4 yards per carry in the first half, with Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei getting a nice push up the field on most rushes. While the defense played well overall, there were still areas for improvement; most notably, penalties littered the first half, including two that cost the team first downs inside the Jaguars’ red zone after a 51-yard fake punt set Jacksonville up just outside the red zone.
Another area for concern was the play of Daryl Worley. In our preview of the game, we said that an open receiver is a loss for the Panthers, whether or not that receiver makes the catch, and Daryl Worley let a receiver get behind him twice. The first time Keenan Cole couldn’t bring in a pass that may have gone for a score along the left sidelines, but the second time, Henne was able to hook up with Allen Robinson for 37 yards. It’s not time to press the panic button on Worley, but the Jaguars passing attack should have been dominated the way the front seven dominated the run game, and Worley just did not do that tonight.
Other Notes:
- Rookie wide receiver Curtis Samuel saw plenty of action in his return from a lingering hamstring injury, leading the team with six targets and hauling in four of them for a total of fifteen yards. While Samuel wasn’t able to gain much traction, it was clear the Panthers were trying to get him into space to allow his speed to become a factor. Unfortunately, they weren’t successful, but it was clear that getting Samuel the ball in space was the goal, and the fact that he finished the game healthy is the most important thing.
- Christian McCaffrey was fairly quiet tonight, having trouble finding running room on the ground and only catching one pass, a checkdown from Newton on the first drive. He did, however, make fans nervous when he was sent back for his first punt return attempts of the preseason. When the first Panthers depth chart was released ahead of the first preseason game, McCaffrey was listed as the punt returner and while he had taken reps in practice, tonight was the first time he was able to touch a punt during game action. Neither return was particularly successful, but he did take a hit on his last one which made Panthers fans hold their breath for a moment before he popped to his feet unharmed.
- Cornerback Zack Sanchez made a few plays in the second half, including intercepting Blake Bortles on a play where safety Dezmen Southward poked a ball away from the Jaguars’ Allen Hurns and it rolled into Sanchez’ belly. Sanchez, who is battling with Cole Luke for the final cornerback spot on the team, also had a nice pass breakup near the goal line. Luke, on the other hand, did not have a good game, appearing confused and a step behind during multiple plays.
- Andy Lee had a chance to punt this week after no opportunities in Nashville Week 2, and he did well, booming three punts and averaging 51.3 per kick. Michael Palardy had two punts and also averaged over 50 yards per punt; the punting competition remains just that. A competition.
- Kelvin Benjamin continued his impressive preseason with four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Benjamin seems to be initiating contact with defenders and playing “bigger” than he has in past seasons, with Newton calling him a “complete receiver” after the game.
- The kick returns were again a problem, with Kaelin Clay and Fozzy Whittaker combining to average just over 15 yards per return. This is going to be an issue going into the regular season, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey has to fix this problem, and soon.
- Cameron Artis-Payne had his second big game in a row, following up his five carry, 70 yard performance last week with 37 more yards and two scores this week, reinforcing the theme of physicality that Ron Rivera has been preaching. “Being physical, getting downhill; you see a seam, you hit the seam,” said Artis-Payne after the game. “When the offensive lines and tight ends are blocking great, you see all the backs getting downhill.”
- The fullbacks were not involved in the game plan this week, as Alex Armah was the lone fullback to get on the stat sheet with one catch. Neither fullback received many snaps in the first half, and when a formation came about that required a fullback such as the I-formation, that role went to tight end Ed Dickson, who said after the game that “the definition of being a tight end in this offense is being able to line up anywhere on the field.” I’ve been saying for weeks that the fullback may not be a part of this roster when San Francisco rolls around, and tonight’s first half may be as much of a confirmation as we are going to get.
- A large contingent of Panthers fans were in attendance, even in the rainy conditions, it was clear that the Roaring Riot was at the stadium, especially when linebacker Luke Kuechly made a tackle and the “Luuuuke” cheers echoed throughout EverBank Field.
