3 Major Takeaways From Panthers' Frustrating Loss to Broncos

The Carolina Panthers had opportunities to take down the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but the team fell short and lost to the Broncos, 26-21. After taking a 14-13 lead in the third quarter, the Panthers were unable to hold on and lost for the third straight game.

While the Panthers had several good moments, particularly on offense, errors in the game cost the team the victory. Once again, Carolina found itself in a position to win but couldn't finish the job.

Three things we learned from the Panthers' loss to Denver on Sunday.

Penalties Continue to Hurt the Panthers

Carolina had 13 penalties for 119 yards on Sunday. The Panthers gave up a lot of yards to the Broncos in the game, many of which came on penalties that allowed Denver to keep drives going.

There will always be some penalties in a game, but the Panthers had too many on Sunday. A number of the penalties were for pass interference, and some of those resulted in Denver gaining extra yardage on drives that otherwise would have ended.

The frustrating thing is that the Panthers were competitive for the majority of the game, and they didn't have to play a perfect game to win. But giving the Broncos free yards is not the way to win.

Dave Canales and his coaching staff have to get these penalties under control before they cost Carolina another game.

Bryce Young Needs More Help Around Him

The Carolina Panthers quarterback, Bryce Young, had some really good plays on Sunday. He had three touchdown passes on the day, gave Carolina the lead in the third quarter and kept the Panthers in the game until the final minutes.

The Panthers have also had problems protecting Young throughout the season, making his performance against Denver an encouraging sign.

One of Carolina's scoring opportunities ended with a strange interception. Young threw to Tommy Tremble in the end zone, and the ball was deflected before ending up in the hands of Devon Key of the Denver Broncos.

Officials initially ruled the pass incomplete, but Denver challenged the call. After reviewing the play, officials determined that the ball had hit Tremble's foot rather than the ground before Key secured it, giving Denver the interception.

This took away another opportunity for the Carolina Panthers to extend their lead in the game. The ball wasn't caught by the receiver, and that was out of Young's hands.

Young had a solid game for the Panthers, throwing three touchdown passes. He gave the team opportunities to win, but the rest of the players on the field must take advantage of those opportunities.

Carolina's Secondary Is Still Giving Up Too Much Space

The secondary was once again giving up too much space to opposing receivers, especially in the first half of the game. Bo Nix was able to find many of his receivers on short completions and drive the Broncos down the field.

As Panthers On SI discussed in its halftime breakdown, Carolina's defensive backs were giving Denver's receivers too much room to operate.

While the defense held Denver to a field goal prior to halftime, the secondary allowed too much space for the opposing team's receivers and gave up too many opportunities.

The Panthers also had a number of pass interference penalties on the defensive backs. Those penalties made it even harder for the defense to get off the field.

To be a competitive team in the NFL, the defensive backs of the Carolina Panthers need to challenge receivers and not give up easy completions to the opposing quarterback.

Even with the problems, the Panthers showed that they can compete with the Broncos. But too many mistakes are keeping Carolina from winning games.

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