All Panthers

Dave Canales refuses to blame Ejiro Evero after another disaster on run defense

Sunday’s disheartening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was the latest example of the Carolina Panthers’ defense being dominated by an opposing ground game.
Russell Baxter|
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales comes off the sidelines during the first half of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales comes off the sidelines during the first half of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In this story:

Carolina Panthers

It was déjà vu all over again for the Carolina Panthers’ porous defense, and especially when it came to trying slow down an opponent on the ground. Dave Canales’s club kicked off 2025 with a 26-10 loss at Jacksonville that showed that not much has changed when it comes to the team’s biggest defensive shortcoming from 2024.

Led by running back Travis Etienne’s 16 carries for 143 yards, Jacksonville’s Liam Coen enjoyed a successful debut as an NFL head coach as the team finished with 200 yards on the ground on 32 running plays. Meanwhile, Carolina’s sideline leader had a different viewpoint of his defense.

“I thought we played the run consistently well,” stated Canales (via Joseph Person of The Athletic), “but I thought that we gave up big plays.”

“Besides his career-long 71-yarder,” added Person, “Etienne also had runs of 14 and 17 yards on Jacksonville’s final drive. The Panthers earlier allowed a rushing touchdown on a reverse to Brian Thomas and gave up 200 total yards on the ground.”

Panthers’ run defense has picked up where it left off in 2024

“These were troubling signs for a defense that last year became the fourth team in NFL history to allow 3,000 yards in a season,” explained Person. “But Canales defended defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.”

“The scheme was there,” stated Canales. “We’ve gotta get guys down.”

That would be an understatement, and getting “guys down” hasn’t been a strong suit for a defense that was abysmal vs. opposing ground attacks in 2024. The Panthers finished dead last in the league vs. the run, giving up a whopping 179.8 yards per game on the ground. Evero’s defense limited only one of its 17 opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in 2024. That would be the Las Vegas Raiders, who were dead last in the NFL in rushing this past season.

To make matters worse, Jacksonville’s rushing yardage total last Sunday means that the Carolina defense has now allowed at least 200 yards rushing in seven consecutive games dating back to last season. Next up for the Panthers is a trip to Arizona to face a team that ran for 146 yards in its Week 1 win at New Orleans. While Canales’s club knocked off the Cardinals in overtime, 36-30, in Charlotte last season in Week 16, they wound up surrendering 206 yards rushing to Jonathan Gannon’s club.

  - Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI - 

Derrick Brown won’t blame Panthers coaches but probably should

Scoop: Panthers ‘not as aggressive’ as other Micah Parsons suitors

NFL insider unsure how long the Panthers will start Bryce Young

Bryce Young named Panthers’ biggest loser after appalling debut

Published
Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.