49ers Crush Panthers, 37-15
Charlotte, N.C. - If Matt Rhule's seat wasn't red hot ahead of today's game, one could assume it is now as the Carolina Panthers fell to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday evening, 37-15. The loss drops the Panthers to 1-4 on the season and 11-27 in two-plus years under Rhule, who had a reasonably hot seat entering this week's contest.
It didn't take long for the 49ers to grab the first points of the day scoring in just a little over three minutes on the opening drive. Jeff Wilson Jr. gashed the Carolina defense up the middle with a 41-yard scamper. Two plays later, Jimmy Garoppolo flicked a quick pass out to his right to Tevin Coleman who ran it in from nine yards out for the touchdown.
After a three-and-out on the Panthers' first series, the defense came up big as Damien Wilson laid the lumber on George Kittle, forcing a fumble which would be recovered by Yetur Gross-Matos.
Christian McCaffrey helped get the offense going both on the ground with a 4th down conversion and an 11-yard catch that created a shorter field goal attempt for Eddy Pineiro. Unfortunately, the Panthers were unable to cash in on the turnover as Pineiro hooked the 41-yard attempt to the left, marking his first miss in his last 28 attempts.
After trading field goals early in the second quarter, Robbie Gould's third attempt of the day was blocked by Gross-Matos. Moments later, disaster ensued as Baker Mayfield pumped and then overthrew Christian McCaffrey, resulting in a 41-yard pick-six by Emmanuel Moseley.
With the Panthers trailing 17-3 at the half, they desperately needed a spark and Raheem Blackshear provided that with a 46-yard return to the 49. After moving the ball inside the 20, Matt Rhule elected to go for it and it paid off. Mayfield pitched it to McCaffrey who weaved his way through the defense for a touchdown. Instead of kicking the extra point to make it a seven-point game, Rhule opted to try for two. He put backup QB P.J. Walker in the game as a threat to run the ball, but the Niners didn't bite and swallowed up McCaffrey for a loss.
San Francisco answered the touchdown with one of their own but received some help along the way. The Panthers had them stopped on 4th down, but a defensive pass interference call on CJ Henderson kept the drive alive. On the very next play, Jauan Jennings caught a ball over the middle, bounced off Shaq Thompson, and turned up the sideline for a massive pickup of 32 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the four. Garoppolo topped the drive off with his second touchdown toss of the day, this time to Deebo Samuel.
On the ensuing kickoff, Raheem Blackshear gave the offense a jolt (again) with another return out to midfield. Baker Mayfield connected with Shi Smith for the deepest ball of the day (31 yards), but that was as close as the Panthers would get to the end zone, and would have to settle for three off the foot of Pineiro.
Jimmy Garoppolo completed a pair of 18-yard passes to Kyle Juszczyk and Brandon Aiyuk to usher the 49er offense down the field. Carolina nearly forced Kyle Shanahan into a tough decision on fourth down as kicker Robbie Gould was no longer available to an injured hip. A missed tackle from C.J. Henderson along the sideline on Jennings resulted in a first down. Jeff Wilson punctuated the drive with a touchdown, extending the lead to 30-12.
Mayfield pieced together his best drive of the day when it was most needed completing 6-of-9 passes for 62 yards. However, the drive resulted in yet another field goal as Rhule passed up on going for it on 4th and 2 to ensure it would remain a two-score game.
That wouldn't last long though as the Panthers couldn't manage to do anything with the football. Mayfield was sacked on 4th & long, giving San Francisco the ball inside the five. Tevin Coleman officially made it a laugher two plays later with a five-yard rushing score.
The Panthers will now play away from Bank of America Stadium for the first time in a month as they hit the road to take on the Los Angeles Rams. Kickoff for next week's matchup is set for 4:05 p.m. EST.
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