Steelers Take Over 'The Bank', Defeat Panthers 24-16

The Panthers move to 5-9 on the season.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Coming into Sunday's game, the Carolina Panthers controlled their own destiny. Well, that may no longer be the case as they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-16.

If you looked down at your phone for a few minutes, you might have missed the first quarter, which took just 27 minutes in real time to complete. 

Pittsburgh set the tone on the opening drive of the game on each side of the ball. They forced a three-and-out and followed that up with a 12-play, 67-yard scoring drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. Najee Harris made his presence felt, rushing the ball six times for 34 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown where he made Jeremy Chinn miss and then bounced it outside, finishing with a stiff arm on Keith Taylor Jr. for the score.

Carolina failed to get the ground game going, so they had to resort to the air with Sam Darnold. He completed a pass on 3rd & 11 to DJ Moore and then went right back to him on the following play, attacking the same soft spot of the zone for 15 yards. The big play of the drive came on 3rd & 13 where Terrace Marshall Jr. slipped free behind the secondary, catching a 40-yard pass to move the ball into the red zone. A few plays later, Darnold fit one into a tight window near the sideline, yet in the end zone to DJ Moore to tie the game up. 

At nearly the same part of the field as Marshall's catch, George Pickens made a terrific catch in man coverage over Keith Taylor for a pickup of 38. Pittsburgh then turned to the ground game as Jaylen Warren toted four consecutive carries to finish the drive off with a touchdown.

The Steelers were flagged for two penalties on the opening kickoff, knocking them back to their own nine to begin the drive. Pittsburgh gave Carolina a taste of its own medicine by controlling the clock and wearing down the defensive front. Trubisky converted a pair of third downs through the air, but Steven Sims had the biggest play of the series picking up 22 yards on an end around. Harris and Warren traded carries all throughout the drive but it was Trubisky who ran it in. Pittsburgh totaled 91 yards on 21 plays and ate up nearly 12 minutes. Carolina didn't touch the ball until the 3:17 mark of the third quarter.

Chuba Hubbard picked up a chunk of yardage after a checkdown from Darnold on the second play of the ensuing drive, helping jumpstart Carolina's offense. After back-to-back sacks from Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward, the Panthers were ready to punt on 4th & 27. However, Steelers' safety Marcus Allen had other plans. He made a bonehead decision to get inside the Panthers' huddle, which warranted an unsportsmanlike penalty, giving Carolina an automatic first down. Fortunately for him, the Panthers were limited to a 29-yard field goal from Eddy Pineiro.

Frankie Luvu recorded his sixth sack of the season, dropping Trubisky for a loss of ten on third down to give the offense the ball back. Sam Darnold made some big throws over the middle of the field to DJ Moore (13 yards) and Shi Smith (24 yards) to push the ball in plus territory. Darnold took a shot downfield to Marshall and although he was unable to come up with the catch, he did draw a defensive pass interference penalty on Cam Sutton. Once again, the Panthers were shut out of the end zone and had to settle for three. The 32-yard Pineiro field goal did, however, make it a one-score game with 6:15 remaining.

Keith Taylor's bad day continued by giving up back-to-back third down conversions to Dionate Johnson, preventing the offense from getting the ball back. Pittsburgh went back to leaning on the ground game to continue to move the chains and burn out much of the remaining time. Chris Boswell punched through a 50-yard field goal to make it a two-score game once again.

In three plays, Carolina was able to get into field goal range for Pineiro, who sailed one through the uprights from 52 yards out. The ensuing onside kick failed, thus ending the game.

Carolina will look to get back on track on Saturday when they welcome in the Detroit Lions on Christmas Eve. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. EST.

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