Carolina Panthers Week 2: A Tale of Two Halves

by connorrice26 | 5 years ago | 0 Comments

Though the Panthers' level of play offensively jumped up dramatically from week 1, a tight second half along with an explosive Bucs rushing attack led to a 41-30 loss under the lights in Bank of America Stadium. With the exception of a CMC fumble on Carolina's first offensive drive the Panthers played a near-perfect first half on both sides of the ball and took a 24-10 lead into halftime, but defensive lapses led to chunk plays through the air in the passing game and a ground attack that coach Sanders described as among the best and most demoralizing he has ever faced. In his post-game press conference Sanders took responsibility for the loss, noting that in the second half he became overly reliant on the deep ball and got predictable with his offensive playcalling, as the long sustained drives that defined the first half gave way to a truly terrible effort in the second. Sanders congratulated the Bucs for their own improvements at halftime and looks to build upon the positive trends from an overall improved effort against what should be a playoff-contending team.

CAROLINA OFFENSIVE MVP: D.J. MOORE (WR)

Though purely based on the box score CMC would appear to deserve this plaudit, McCaffery left a lot of opportunities on the table by missing holes in the running game, tending to bounce it outside even when there were perfectly good gains to be had between the tackles. We instead choose to recognize the most consistent recieving threat in the passing game, as Moore led both teams in receptions and put up a TD early in the 2nd quarter. Newton attempted to force-feed Moore a couple of times in the 2nd half by throwing it into double coverage, and no WR should be expected to make those catches. Moore stepped up when it was realistic of him to do so.

TAMPA BAY OFFENSIVE MVP: KALEN BALLAGE (HB)

Ballage showed who won the Bucs-Fins trade that sent him to Tampa Bay with extreme prejudice today, running for 191 yds on 8.3 YPC and 3 TD's. It appeared to not matter how many rushers Carolina sent after him and how aggressively they played the run as Ballage would not be denied his yardage, and he was the catalyst for a number of sustained drives that fueled Tampa Bay's 2nd-half comeback. Ballage didn't have many truly explosive runs, with his longest run being only 37 yds, but his ability to consistently gain 7+ a run proved too much for Carolina to overcome.

CAROLINA DEFENSIVE MVP: TRE BOSTON (FS)

Boston along with the entire Carolina defense disappeared in the 2nd half, but a nice deflection on what would have been a sure Tampa Bay touchdown and a forced fumble in the 1st half gives Boston this award by default. Not a lot of strong contenders, to say the least.

TAMPA BAY DEFENSIVE MVP: LAVONTE DAVID (MLB)

It's more of an indictment of coach Sanders' abilities that the opposing user MLB has won defensive MVP for the 2nd consecutive game than anything else, but this is what happens when you hand your franchise over to a known choke artist and a man who shines brightest when the stakes are lowest. David both led the team in tackles with 10 and got a nice interception in the 4th quarter off of a poorly concieved in route to cement the game for the Bucs.