Turnovers Plague Panthers in Loss to Eagles
CHARLOTTE, NC - After giving up 245 rushing yards and 36 points a week ago to the Cowboys, the Panthers' defense tightened things up throughout the first half allowing just 88 yards of total offense. Philadelphia's first two drives of the game resulted in three and outs while the Panthers opened up the scoring thanks to a 48-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez.
Following the 2nd three and out by the Eagles offense, punter Arryn Siposs booted a 64-yard punt, pinning the Panthers at their own five. With pressure in his face and nowhere to really go with the ball, Sam Darnold forced a pass toward the boundary which was picked off by Darius Slay and returned to the ten. Philadelphia worked the ball down to the two but decided to go for it on 4th down. Hurts hit Jalen Reagor for a touchdown on a quick slant but it would be erased due to an offensive pass interference call on Greg Ward Jr. Pushing the Eagles to a 4th & 7, head coach Nick Sirianni settled for a field goal to tie the game at three.
On the ensuing kickoff, Carolina received great field position after a solid return by Alex Erickson bringing the ball out to the nose of the 40-yard line. Everybody got in on the action on the drive as Darnold hit Ian Thomas over the middle for a first down, Chuba Hubbard followed that up by popping a 26-yard run to the outside. DJ Moore then set the Panthers up at the five on a 14-yard catch, which led to a touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Tremble.
Early in the 2nd quarter, Panthers' safety Kenny Robinson got a hand on a punt which allowed it to only go 16 yards. Carolina moved the ball enough to get into field goal range for Zane Gonzalez who sailed one through the uprights from 43 yards out. On the Eagles' first play of their next drive, center Jason Kelce snapped the ball over Jalen Hurts' head and would eventually roll through the back of the end zone for a safety.
With just over a minute remaining in the half, Hurts made a couple of big throws to Jalen Reagor and DeVonta Smith for a combined 32 yards setting up a long, 58-yard field goal attempt for Jake Elliott who knocked it through making it a 15-6 game at the half.
The first seven minutes of the third quarter was full of turnovers. First, Jalen Hurts completed a pass to DeVonta Smith but cornerback Donte Jackson punched the ball loose and Jeremy Chinn recovered it, returning the ball to near midfield. Carolina couldn't do anything with the terrific field position and was forced to punt. On the first play of the drive, Hurts looked like he had a big play down the sideline to Zach Ertz but it was overthrown and Mr. Jonny on the spot, Donte Jackson, was there to reel in the interception. Unfortunately for Carolina, Darius Slay picked off Darnold for the second time of the day. Once again, the stingy Carolina defense did their job as Haason Reddick registered back-to-back sacks.
Late in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts finally found some success through the air, connecting on a 53-yard deep ball to Quez Watkins. Two plays later, Jalen Hurts nudged his way into the end zone, trimming the lead to 15-13.
Desperately needing to do something on offense, Carolina turned to running back Chuba Hubbard who had a solid drive to help lead the Panthers down the field despite the struggles of the offensive line. Carolina had to settle for a 50-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez which pushed the lead out to 18-13.
Carolina's defense came up with a big 4th down stop in their own territory but couldn't bail out the offense for what seemed like the 100th time of the day on the next series. Jalen Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert for a gain of 20, putting the ball on the doorstep for Philadelphia. Hurts eventually ran it in from six yards out giving the Eagles their first lead of the day. Philly went for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point lead and converted on the pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith in the back of the end zone.
Due to a couple of penalties, the Panthers faced a 3rd & long early on their next drive. Darnold found Robby Anderson for a pickup of 25. However, the drive halted once again as Darnold threw his third interception of the day.
Philadelphia busted off a couple of big runs causing Carolina to eat up their timeouts. The Eagles would go on to win by a 21-18 score.
The Panthers will be home once again next week to take on the Minnesota Vikings. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. EST.
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @SI_Panthers and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
