When Ron Rivera decided on Thursday night that the first team defense had had enough after a disappointing first drive – the Bills drove 85 yards in 12 plays, didn’t throw an incompletion and converted two third downs, including the final play of the drive, a 28-yard touchdown to Kelvin Benjamin to put them up 7-0 – Rivera realized that Shaq Thompson had only played seven plays out of the twelve due to the nickel package getting reps, so he put Thompson out for another series.
That turned out to be a good decision, as Thompson picked off the fourth play of the drive, ending starter Nathan Peterman’s evening on a sour note.
“We sent him in for one more series and it paid off because he made a big play for us,” said Rivera after the game. “It brought a little juice to us, kind of energized us as a football team.”
Thompson came down with his third interception of the week – the first two were dazzlers in practice, a tip to himself that he caught as he was falling down on a swing pass to Reggie Bonnafon and the second a one-handed pick of Cam Newton in the end zone that ended practice on Tuesday and had Rivera comparing it to Wilber Marshall plays from the eighties.
But this one, the Panthers lone turnover of their 28-23 preseason win in Buffalo, was another athletic play – quickly becoming Thompson’s hallmark thus far in the preseason – as the ball glanced off running back Chris Ivory’s hands and just before it hit the ground, Thompson plucked it from the air and provided a spark to a defense that sorely needed it.
While Thompson only has one interception in his three-year career, as he begins to take on a bigger role – he’s played more snaps each year he’s been in the league – the linebacker who has filled the hybrid “buffalo nickel” slot for most of his NFL career has said that this year is his year – The Year of 54.
“My first few years, I was like a blind mouse, I was just going,” Thompson said as he entered training camp last month. “But I had great leaders that told me, ‘Just go out there and just play. We’ve got your back,’ and as I learned this defense by asking questions of TD and Luke, I started picking it up more and understanding the game a lot more – routes, concepts and stuff like that and how teams like to attack our defense.”
“I’m trying to get up there with Luke & TD, performance-wise; like with Luke, reading the plays – I’m still trying to get there and that’s what I need to develop in my game.”
Interceptions like that help show his growth – Thompson said he was tracking Chris Ivory the entire play – he’s also developing a leadership presence, something that Rivera is starting to notice, saying after practice this week that it’s exciting to see Thompson take his ability and “starting putting things together” – and not just on the field as his confidence is starting to shine through.
“He’s at a point now where he feels himself playing to his ability,” Rivera said after the game in Buffalo in which Thompson finished with the third-most tackles on the Panthers in addition to his interception – all on less than a dozen snaps. “He’s a fourth-year player [and] some of the things we do as a defense suit him very well and he knows that. We’re excited to have him continue grow in what we’re doing.”
“Instead of being a guy on the edge, now you see him in the middle of things; that’s a little bit more about maturity and growth.”
