The Panthers struggled in the second half against the Ravens and fell to 0-2 in the preseason.
The Panthers and Ravens faced off in the second game of the preseason at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. A lot of the Panthers’ starters saw action in this game, including quarterback Sam Darnold who played the opening series on offense. He was 1-of-2 for 16 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions (his one completion was to Robby Anderson for a first down).
Will Grier played the remainder of the first half and looked much better than he did against the Colts, going 11-of-14 for 144 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The only points scored in the first half were two field goals (one for each team). Joey Slye was 1-for-2 on field goal attempts in the first half. The two teams were tied 3-3 at halftime, and while the Panthers should feel some disappointment that their offense couldn’t generate more points, they were moderately successful at moving the ball and had plenty to be positive about before the break.
The second half was a completely different story than the first. Similar to last week’s game against the Colts, the third and fourth units for the Panthers were unable to generate any positive plays on offense and the defense struggled to get any stops. P.J. Walker struggled mightily, completing just one pass as the offense gained a paltry 18 yards in the second half. The Ravens scored 17 points to bury the Panthers and extended their preseason winning streak to 19 games.
The Panthers close out the preseason next week against the Steelers, and hopefully they will be able to iron out the wrinkles that remain before the games start to count in a few weeks.
You can read a more detailed recap of the game, broken down by quarter, below.
First quarter
The Panthers started the game on defense and got off to a shaky start after giving up another third down conversion, but then immediately made up for it with an interception by Haason Reddick. Derrick Brown contributed to the play by tipping the pass right into Reddick’s hands. After a decent return, the Panthers were set up with a first-and-10 on the Ravens’ 33-yard line.
Sam Darnold saw his first action in a Panthers uniform on the team’s first drive, and he went 1-of-2 for 16 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His one pass completion was to Robby Anderson for a first down. Chuba Hubbard was the starting running back for the Panthers tonight and he saw the most action on their first drive, including four carries inside the 10-yard line when the Panthers had first-and-goal. The Panthers elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal inside the 1-yard line but failed to convert.
The defense forced a three and out and gave the Panthers good field position again. Will Grier stepped in at quarterback, and the offense managed to get inside the red zone but failed to convert the drive into points after Joey Slye missed a field goal to keep the game scoreless.
The Panthers struggled again on third down and allowed more conversions by the Ravens offense, but again they made up for it by forcing a turnover. Frankie Luvu forced a fumble that was recovered by Sean Chandler to give the Panthers the football back at their own 12-yard line. The Panthers ran two plays before time ran out on the first quarter with the score tied at 0-0.
Second quarter
The Panthers made a few solid plays on offense to start the second quarter. Will Grier found Terrace Marshall Jr. for a nice 34-yard gain, and Tommy Tremble impressed with a nice catch and run to pick up another first down. Unfortunately, the drive fizzled out and the Panthers had to punt from midfield. Joseph Charton dropped a beautiful punt inside the 5-yard line to give the Panthers defense an advantage in the field position game.
The Panthers defense were finally able to get off the field on third down after making a key stop to force the Ravens to punt from their own end zone again. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the punt traveled 64 yards before rolling out of bounds.
The Panthers made some positive plays on offense but were unable to get the ball into the end zone on their next drive, but they did manage to put some points on the board thanks to a 41-yard field goal from Slye. Grier looked much better on this drive than the previous ones, and it seemed that he started to find some rhythm. Shi Smith was also impressive with a few solid receptions. The Panthers put the first points on the board and took a 3-0 lead with 4:25 left in the half.
The Ravens successfully ran the four minute drill and managed to sneak in a field goal as time expired on the first half to tie the game at 3-3. The Panthers once again struggled to get off the field on third down, but only allowing a field goal is a minor victory for a young defense trying to carve out an identity in the league.
Third quarter
The Panthers started the second half on offense, with Will Grier returning at quarterback. The offense went three-and-out on their opening drive and were forced to punt the ball to the Ravens. The defense did their job to get off the field quickly, however, after a nice play by Frankie Luvu on third down to force a punt.
P.J. Walker came in at quarterback on the next series, but the Panthers went three-and-out again and were forced to punt on fourth-and-9. Shi Smith made another great catch on what would have been a first down pickup, but he couldn’t get both feet down in bounds.
The Ravens were able to drive down the field and take the lead on the Panthers’ third string defense, pounding the ball into the end zone from short yardage. The extra point attempt was good and the Ravens took a 10-3 lead with 7:46 left in the quarter.
The Panthers went three-and-out on the following drive and were forced to punt again. The Ravens found more success moving the ball against the Panthers’ reserve defense, but were unable to put more points on the board before time expired in the quarter with the Panthers trailing the Ravens 10-3.
Fourth quarter
The Ravens started the fourth quarter with a third-and-10 play, but Jalen Julius prevented a touchdown by breaking up a pass in the end zone and forced the Ravens to attempt a 44-yard field goal. The kick was good and the Ravens took a 13-3 lead with 14:02 left in the game.
The Panthers’ struggles on offense continued with another three-and-out. P.J. Walker has struggled all night and has failed to complete a pass since coming into the game in the third quarter. The Ravens took advantage of the Panthers’ struggles on offense and ran another effective drive against a tired, struggling defense that ended with another touchdown to extend their lead to 20-3 with 9:08 left in the game.
The Panthers went three-and-out again on their next drive and had to punt the ball back to the Ravens, who kept the clock — and the ball — moving for the rest of the game and sealed their 20-3 victory over Carolina.
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