Skip to main content
All Panthers

7 Winners and 8 Losers from Panthers' Hard-Fought Loss to Broncos

The Panthers lost a heartbreaker at home on Sunday.
Zach Roberts|
Carolina Panthers tight end Darren Waller (88) scores a touchdown against Denver Broncos safety JL Skinner
Carolina Panthers tight end Darren Waller (88) scores a touchdown against Denver Broncos safety JL Skinner | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this story:

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers lost a frustrating one at home on Sunday. A crucial turnover in the end zone, aided by some truly shocking referee process, flipped the script when the Panthers appeared to have a win in their grasp. So, which players were winners and losers?

Winner: Darren Waller

Darren Waller may have jumped a route and stolen a catch from Jalen Coker, but he was reliable all day long. The Panthers needed to get things going quicker, and Waller was a good target in the middle of the field for Bryce Young to throw to.

Loser: Dave Canales

The undisciplined play continued this week. The Panthers can't stop committing bad penalties at bad times. We've harped on this all season and believe it ultimately comes back to coaching, and once again, Canales did not have his team playing clean football.

Winner: Chuba Hubbard

Another day, another great Chuba Hubbard outing. He was once again great at fighting through contact and picking up yardage where there really wasn't much. The Panthers needed something to keep the defense on its toes, and Hubbard provided that.

Loser: Refs

Now, on that discipline note, the Panthers did not help themselves, but the refs didn't, either. A few ticky-tack calls against the Panthers, plus a really bad miss when Feleipe Franks had his helmet punched off after a play was over.

Winner: Tommy Tremble

The Panthers have relied on Tommy Tremble's blocking all season, and he was once again excellent in clearing lanes for Chuba Hubbard. Occasionally, he gets a chance to make his receiving presence felt, and he did so again today with a beautiful touchdown catch. He's rounding into an all-around weapon.

Winner: Chau Smith-Wade

It's a trend with the cornerbacks, but Chau Smith-Wade has been pressed into action. He quite literally saved a touchdown on a fantastic deflection before the half. And among the main three coverage players, he didn't have any catastrophic mistakes or get picked on. He also broke up another would-be touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Loser: Marco Wilson

We understand that Marco Wilson's job is impossible, but he's also been bad. He continues to commit bad penalties and get burnt. You can't do both. He shouldn't be in this position, but he is and has to play a lot. And he's playing poorly.

Winner and Loser: Corey Thornton

The same logic applies to Corey Thornton. He has been on the practice squad for a long time, and we saw why for a while on Sunday. The Panthers shouldn't be relying on him like this, but that's the situation. From the get-go, the Broncos took aim at him and relentlessly abused him. However, he did come down with a massive interception. He also committed a crushing DPI on third down in the fourth quarter. It was a rollercoaster.

Loser: Ryan Fitzgerald

The Panthers are hard-pressed for points with how rough things have been on offense the last few weeks. Ryan Fitzgerald simply cannot be missing simple field goals. He has quietly been very mediocre this year, and it bit the Panthers badly on Sunday. Kickoff mistakes really hurt the Panthers, too.

Winner: Todd Wash

Todd Wash has his work cut out for him this week. He absolutely rose to the occasion. Despite playing without Jaelan Phillips and with no viable cornerbacks, Wash had this defense playing as well as we've seen it (yes, Bo Nix helps make a defense look better). They were aggressive and stopped the run, two things we've been begging to see all year. It was certainly not perfect, but this is a win with an asterisk for Wash.

Loser: Monroe Freeling

Monroe Freeling was out of sorts on a couple of crucial plays, including a near-immediate sack on third down right after the Panthers surrendered the lead. He appeared to not even know the snap count and got beat before he even got out of his break.

Winner: Bryce Young

The offensive line held up better, but the difference in this week versus the last two was Bryce Young. His mobility was clearly back to normal, and his confidence returned. He got into a roll in the second half that few quarterbacks have reached this season.

Winner: Brad Idzik

Understandably, there was some criticism of Brad Idzik. He seemed unable to find answers for his offense. That wasn't the case today, and it came against the NFL leader in sacks. His usage of the tight ends and Chuba Hubbard was pitch-perfect.

Loser: Rasheed Walker

Rasheed Walker nearly escaped unscathed, but he couldn't avoid making a back-breaking mistake. He was beat badly on the sack that became a fumble, essentially ending the game with the Panthers driving down by five.

Add us as a preferred source on Google
Published
Zach Roberts
ZACH ROBERTS

Zachary Roberts is a journalist with a wide variety of experience covering basketball, golf, entertainment, video games, music, football, baseball, and hockey. He currently covers Charlotte sports teams and has been featured on Sportskeeda, Yardbarker, MSN, and On SI.

Home/News