The Panthers have been saying for weeks that they were getting close to sacking the quarterback, but ultimately coming up inches short.
This week in Arizona as they got their first win of the season 38-20, they were finally able to close the gap on the QB, sacking rookie Kyler Murray an incredible eight times, the second-most in a single game in franchise history and the most since the last time they played the Cardinals in 2016. The Panthers entered the game in the bottom quarter of the league in total sacks – after today’s explosion, they have the second-most in the NFL with 12 on the season.
And once the sacks started coming, with the offense scoring and the Cardinals playing from behind, they used the additional pressure to close the door on the Cardinals in the fourth quarter, pulling Murray down five times in the final stanza as the Panthers outscored the Cardinals 24-10 in the second half and 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
“We had to abandon the run a bit to try and catch up and they pinned their ears back and it was tough sledding from there,” said Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury. “They pinned their ears back and played some zone coverage behind it – they’re a good football team when they make you one-dimensional and that’s what they want to do.”
“They did it and we played into their hands.”
The adjustments made in the secondary by the coaching staff at halftime confused rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, who had only four incompletions in the first half but threw two interceptions in the second half as the Cardinals offense sputtered late in the game. After driving 75 yards on their opening drive of the half, the Cardinals only managed 37 the rest of the game. They entered the fourth quarter with 261 total yards.
They finished the game with only 238.
“Throughout the week, we had been going over a certain coverage against a certain look and then we made those adjustments and we came out in the second half and we played it well,” said cornerback James Bradberry. “Kudos to the coaches, they made that call and it turned out good for us.”
“I feel like it confused them a little bit – and after he threw that interception, I felt like he was a little rattled. And, of course, the linemen were getting after him. It’s hard to make good decisions when you’ve got d-linemen in your face the whole time.”
It certainly was.
Veteran rusher Mario Addison led the way with three sacks – his sixth career game with two or more sacks and his second game with three sacks in two years but rookie Christian Miller had the first two sacks of his career and Eric Reid, Shaq Thompson and Brian Burns all got in on the action.
“If I can do it, they can do it, too,” said Addison. “Other guys, they put me in the right position, I put them in the right position – and then we just make plays together.”
Super Mario
Addison’s first sack came off of a stunt with Marquis Haynes on a four-man rush – his second also came on a four-man rush, courtesy of Kyle Love, who forced Murray out of the pocket as Addison forced him out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.
All three of the Panthers first-half sacks came when they were rushing only four, but once the Panthers were up by two scores and could send more rushers is when they were able to really bring the heat.
“We just started playing ball,” said Addison. “We turned it up a little bit more. We had to turn it up a little more, because in the first quarter, they threw it all at us in those first two drives, so we had to stop it.”
The Cardinals came out firing in both halves – both opening drives combined for 149 yards of Arizona’s 238 total yards.
Pick #1 for Action Jackson
The Panthers final two sacks, courtesy of their rookie edge rushers Burns and Miller, both came with only four rushers as the coverage in the secondary forced Murray to hold it for longer than he’d like.
The defense held the Cardinals to less than four yards per offensive play – the Cardinals fast-paced, no-huddle offense kept the Panthers off-balance early but once they got used to the pace of it, they were able to keep the Arizona receivers in front of them and when Murray couldn’t find a place to go with the football, the pass rushers pounced.
And when he tried to force the ball into traffic, the secondary – specifically Donte Jackson – pounced; Jackson’s two interceptions led to ten points for the Panthers.
“All week we were flawless at practice,” said Jackson. “The rush and the secondary were working together and everything was clicking. It was just a great week of practice, so we kind of already knew that we were going to come out here and execute because we were just flawless all week. That rush, that was the reason for those two picks – I give the credit to those guys. Those guys were just constantly getting pressure, constantly in his face. Rookie or veteran, no quarterback likes that. That’s really what they were trying to do and that’s what they did. They got to the quarterback.”
“Eight sacks – that’s ridiculous.”
Sacks – like turnovers – tend to come in bunches and the Panthers are hopeful their success bringing down the quarterback will continue next week as they head to Houston to take on another slippery quarterback who has been sacked a fair amount this season. Deshaun Watson was sacked six times in Week 1 and the Texans have allowed the fifth-most sacks in the league through three weeks.
“Well probably the biggest thing we’ve got to do is be able to go out and do it again,” said Ron Rivera. “We’ll start getting ready for our next opponent and believe me, they’re not going to give up eight sacks.”
Maybe not – but the Panthers have proven to themselves – and the rest of the league – that they can do it.
