The Carolina Panthers beat the New York Jets 35-27 at MetLife Stadium and although it may have not been a blockbuster outing statistically, in the words of Cam Newton, an ugly win is better than a pretty loss; the Panthers are 8-3, sharing the best record in the NFC South with their Week 13 foe, the New Orleans Saints. With Greg Olsen and Ryan Kalil returning from injuries, the Panthers are beginning to get healthy on the offensive side of the ball, but they are still figuring out their wide receiver rotation, especially with Damiere Byrd scheduled to return from a broken forearm next week.
Even with Kalil active, the offensive line remained the same as it has been for most of the season with Tyler Larsen manning the middle and Kalil acting as more of an emergency option if Larsen were to aggravate his foot injury. The receiver rotation is very much a work in progress with Kelvin Benjamin being traded and Curtis Samuel having season-ending surgery after last Monday’s win over the Dolphins; Devin Funchess is clearly the #1 option, both in terms of playing times and targets, but Kaelin Clay has become the second option while Shepard holds onto the WR3 role he has occupied since he was brought in from Tampa Bay. With Olsen returning, Alex Armah didn’t get a jersey and Chris Manhertz lined up multiple times in the h-back role, taking 40% of the snaps; Olsen did not return after halftime and possibly inflated that number along with Ed Dickson’s snap count.
The cornerback rotation continues on defense, with Daryl Worley getting most of the snaps yesterday and Kevon Seymour only seeing the field sporadically; this was the split against Miami, but the opposite of how the rotation ran when they were matched up with Julio Jones and the Falcons. It clearly depends on the matchup on a week-to-week basis; Jairus Byrd manned the nickel slot and took some snaps at safety when Mike Adams was briefly shook up. Defensive tackle Vernon Butler played his most snaps of the year and had an impact along the defensive front, his development will be important down the stretch to keep the entire line fresh.
The below table is sortable, so feel free to move things around and form your own opinions. Have questions? Let us know in the comments.
| Player | Position | Offensive Snaps | Percentage | Defensive Snaps | Percentage | Special Teams Snaps | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D Williams | T | 72 | 100% | 4 | 11% | ||
| T Turner | G | 72 | 100% | 4 | 11% | ||
| A Norwell | G | 72 | 100% | 4 | 11% | ||
| M Kalil | T | 72 | 100% | 4 | 11% | ||
| C Newton | QB | 72 | 100% | ||||
| T Larsen | C | 72 | 100% | ||||
| E Dickson | TE | 63 | 88% | 10 | 27% | ||
| D Funchess | WR | 60 | 83% | ||||
| C McCaffrey | RB | 50 | 69% | 3 | 8% | ||
| K Clay | WR | 49 | 68% | 6 | 16% | ||
| R Shepard | WR | 30 | 42% | 11 | 30% | ||
| C Manhertz | TE | 29 | 40% | 7 | 19% | ||
| J Stewart | RB | 27 | 38% | ||||
| G Olsen | TE | 24 | 33% | ||||
| B Bersin | WR | 16 | 22% | 20 | 54% | ||
| T Moton | T | 8 | 11% | 4 | 11% | ||
| F Whittaker | RB | 2 | 3% | 26 | 70% | ||
| C Artis-Payne | RB | 1 | 1% | 26 | 70% | ||
| A Silatolu | T | 1 | 1% | 10 | 27% | ||
| K Coleman | FS | 70 | 100% | 7 | 19% | ||
| L Kuechly | LB | 70 | 100% | 7 | 19% | ||
| J Bradberry | CB | 68 | 97% | 12 | 32% | ||
| M Adams | SS | 67 | 96% | 7 | 19% | ||
| T Davis | LB | 62 | 89% | 4 | 11% | ||
| S Thompson | LB | 57 | 81% | 13 | 35% | ||
| D Worley | CB | 52 | 74% | 16 | 43% | ||
| K Short | DT | 46 | 66% | 7 | 19% | ||
| M Addison | DE | 44 | 63% | 2 | 5% | ||
| C Johnson | DE | 44 | 63% | ||||
| J Peppers | DE | 38 | 54% | 7 | 19% | ||
| S Lotulelei | DT | 33 | 47% | 7 | 19% | ||
| V Butler | DT | 29 | 41% | 5 | 14% | ||
| K Love | DT | 28 | 40% | ||||
| K Seymour | CB | 22 | 31% | 18 | 49% | ||
| W Horton | DE | 22 | 31% | 7 | 19% | ||
| J Byrd | FS | 12 | 17% | 8 | 22% | ||
| D Mayo | LB | 6 | 9% | 27 | 73% | ||
| J Norris | LB | 26 | 70% | ||||
| B Jacobs | LB | 26 | 70% | ||||
| C Jones | FS | 26 | 70% | ||||
| G Gano | K | 12 | 32% | ||||
| J Jansen | LS | 10 | 27% | ||||
| M Palardy | P | 10 | 27% | ||||
| G Van Roten | G | 4 | 11% |
