The Panthers went into Foxborough and defeated the Patriots 33-30 despite suffering a rash of injuries throughout the day after already limping into the game missing their starting center, tight end, and cornerback. With extraordinary play from quarterbacks on both sides of the ball Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly, the Panthers held off a late Tom Brady comeback to escape Gillette Stadium with the win.
On offense, Ed Dickson continued his Greg Olsen impression by being on the field for 98% of the snaps, this week adding three catches for 62 yards; Devin Funchess and Kelvin Benjamin were each on the field for over 90% of snaps even with Funchess fighting cramps almost the entire fourth quarter. Christian McCaffrey continues to be on the field constantly for the Panthers, outsnapping fellow running back Jonathan Stewart by 20 plays, although it should be noted that Stewart touched the ball on 50% of the snaps he was on the field vs. McCaffrey only touching it on 21% of his available snaps. Amini Silatolu subbed in for Trai Turner when the guard was injured for a single play and promptly gave up a sack in his lone play.
With Thomas Davis still recovering from his rib injury last week, Shaq Thompson was on the field for 99% of the defensive plays, up from 91% last week. It is clear that when Davis is healthy, he will take most of the snaps and Thompson is relegated to between 40-60%, but Thompson was excellent in relief as he gathered 10 tackles, including one for a loss. Speaking of excellent in relief, cornerback Kevon Seymour played 97% of the snaps and held his own against future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady; when safety Kurt Coleman went out with a knee injury in the first half, Demetrious Cox took his spot and performed admirably being thrust into an unenviable situation being matched up with Rob Gronkowski with Tom Brady targeting him. Nickel cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who said during the week that he was unhappy with the 11 snaps he received against the Saints, tripled that number as the Panthers stayed in nickel coverage for most of the afternoon against the pass-happy Patriots.
The below table is sortable, so feel free to experiment and form your own opinions. Any questions? Reach out in the comments!
| Player | Position | Offensive Snaps | Percentage | Defensive Snaps | Percentage | Special Teams Snaps | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D Williams | T | 63 | 100% | 6 | 21% | ||
| T Larsen | C | 63 | 100% | 6 | 21% | ||
| A Norwell | G | 63 | 100% | 6 | 21% | ||
| M Kalil | T | 63 | 100% | ||||
| C Newton | QB | 63 | 100% | ||||
| E Dickson | TE | 62 | 98% | 6 | 21% | ||
| T Turner | G | 62 | 98% | 6 | 21% | ||
| D Funchess | WR | 58 | 92% | ||||
| K Benjamin | WR | 57 | 90% | ||||
| C McCaffrey | RB | 48 | 76% | 7 | 25% | ||
| R Shepard | WR | 35 | 56% | 9 | 32% | ||
| J Stewart | RB | 28 | 44% | ||||
| C Manhertz | TE | 17 | 27% | 12 | 43% | ||
| F Whittaker | RB | 6 | 10% | 16 | 57% | ||
| D Byrd | WR | 4 | 6% | 7 | 25% | ||
| A Silatolu | T | 1 | 2% | 6 | 21% | ||
| J Bradberry | CB | 70 | 100% | 10 | 36% | ||
| L Kuechly | LB | 70 | 100% | 5 | 18% | ||
| S Thompson | LB | 69 | 99% | 7 | 25% | ||
| M Adams | SS | 69 | 99% | 6 | 21% | ||
| K Seymour | CB | 68 | 97% | 4 | 14% | ||
| K Short | DT | 50 | 71% | 6 | 21% | ||
| M Addison | DE | 45 | 64% | ||||
| S Lotulelei | DT | 40 | 57% | 6 | 21% | ||
| D Cox | SS | 38 | 54% | 7 | 25% | ||
| T Davis | LB | 37 | 53% | ||||
| C Johnson | DE | 36 | 51% | ||||
| J Peppers | DE | 34 | 49% | 5 | 18% | ||
| C Munnerlyn | CB | 33 | 47% | 6 | 21% | ||
| K Love | DT | 32 | 46% | ||||
| W Horton | DE | 25 | 36% | 7 | 25% | ||
| K Coleman | FS | 23 | 33% | 1 | 4% | ||
| V Butler | DT | 22 | 31% | 6 | 21% | ||
| C Jones | FS | 7 | 10% | 21 | 75% | ||
| D Mayo | LB | 2 | 3% | 22 | 79% | ||
| J Norris | LB | 16 | 57% | ||||
| B Jacobs | LB | 16 | 57% | ||||
| A Armah | RB | 15 | 54% | ||||
| C Artis-Payne | RB | 13 | 46% | ||||
| G Gano | K | 12 | 43% | ||||
| L Gunter | CB | 9 | 32% | ||||
| J Jansen | LS | 7 | 25% | ||||
| M Palardy | P | 7 | 25% | ||||
| T Moton | T | 6 | 21% |
