On Sunday against the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold struggled for the fifth week in a row. Three second-half interceptions undid the Panthers on their way to their fifth loss in the last six games.
Darnold was erratic throughout Sunday’s 24-6 loss to the Patriots, going 16-for-33 for an average of just 5.2 yards per attempt and without a touchdown. However, it was his carelessness with the ball in the final two quarters that effectively lost the game for the Panthers.
Darnold threw three interceptions, including two in the red zone and one that was returned for a touchdown, in the second half of the contest. He ended the day with a 26.3 passer rating, extending his streak without a passing touchdown to three straight weeks.
After the game, frustrations were high in the Carolina locker room, including and even from head coach Matt Rhule. Although he tried to avoid putting the blame on Darnold, he was rightfully annoyed that the Panthers couldn’t protect the ball in the second half.
“I don’t want to lay it all on one guy, but we can’t keep throwing the ball up in the air,” Rhule said in his postgame press conference, per The Athletic’s Joe Person.
Matt Rhule: “I don’t want to lay it all on one guy, but we can’t keep throwing the ball up in the air.”
Is Sam Darnold still the guy? “We can’t keep doing that.”
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 7, 2021
It’s been a bizarre turn of events for Darnold, who started off the year with six total touchdowns and only two turnovers through the first three weeks. The Panthers went 3-0 during that stretch and seemed to be a legitimate playoff contender in the NFC.
Since then, Darnold has thrown 10 interceptions in six games and Carolina has fallen all the way to 4-5. The level of competition hasn’t been the issue either as the Panthers posted losses against the Philadelphia Eagles (3-5), the Minnesota Vikings (3-5) and the New York Giants (3-6).
After another abysmal performance on Sunday from Darnold, Rhule may be forced to make a quarterback change this week in practice. P.J. Walker would be the next man up for Carolina.
Whatever Rhule does, he needs to find some way to stop this multi-week skid as fast as possible.
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