Carolina Panthers Week 6 Report Card: Defense
The Carolina Panthers held the Chicago Bears to 23 points but it wasn't enough to walk away from the week six matchup with a victory. Hopefully, the young defense can learn from the loss and move on in the coming weeks. Let's take a look at how the Carolina defense graded out in the week six loss.
Pass defense: B+
The Panthers' defense has played pretty well against the pass this season. Coming into the year the secondary was thought to be the major weakness of the team. The addition of cornerback Rasul Douglas and the exceptional play of Donte Jackson has proved the doubters wrong. This was on display again in week six. They held Bears quarterback Nick Foles to under 200 yards passing and rookie Jeremy Chinn picked him off for his first career interception. They also held Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson to just five catches for 53 yards. You really can't ask for much more from the secondary.
Run defense: A
If there has been one concerning area on the defense for Carolina leading up to this game it would be the run defense. The Panthers finally put an end to their woes in this game. They held Chicago's lead back, David Montgomery, to just 58 yards on the ground. This was a surprising outcome considering the injuries that the Panthers have been dealing with up front. Carolina will look to continue their success against a much more talented running back in Alvin Kamara next week.
Pass rush: D
This is where the defense really struggled. The Panthers were not able to bring Foles down for a sack even once throughout the game. They did get close by hitting him nine times. Defensive end Brian Burns got in on three hits which were most on the team. Applying pressure is great but at some point they need to get there quick enough to take down opposing quarterbacks for a loss of yards. Sacks are a great way for defenses to force punts and turnovers. There seems to be a direct correlation between getting to the quarterback and winning. The top three teams in the NFL in sacks are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Baltimore Ravens. Those three teams have a combined record of 14-3. Hopefully, the Panthers can find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback as the season goes on.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @SI_Panthers and Josh Altorfer at @jaltorfer1
