Sam Darnold's Last Chance?

Heading into the final week of the season, it appears that Sam Darnold will once again start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Last Sunday, Darnold got off to a hot start completing his first nine passes. He finished the game completing 17 of 26 attempts, but had just 132 yards and an interception to show for it.

The main objective for Darnold was to get the ball out quick to avoid the New Orleans dominant pass rush. Even with that mindset and play calls that had multiple underneath routes, Darnold was still sacked five times. Technically, it was seven sacks but he ran out of bounds on his own behind the line of scrimmage twice.

"There was good, there was bad," head coach Matt Rhule said on Monday afternoon. "I thought he did some really good things. He made some plays on the run, converted some third downs versus a really good defense and versus a really good secondary. He made some big throws, did some things with his feet to help us. At other times his first progression was open and he's kind of hanging on and then the second progression and sometimes that results in a sack. I think for him as a young player, just taking what they give you can go a long way. I thought that game was a growth opportunity for him. Obviously he had that pick at the end of the game where we're kind of in duress, but I think for the most part he was accurate with the football."

Although the Buccaneers have just as good of a pass rush/front seven as the Saints, their secondary isn't as strong. This will be a good opportunity for the Panthers to see what Darnold can do in terms of pushing the ball down the field, given he has the protection to do so.

As far as the plan at quarterback for this week's game, Rhule doesn't foresee any changes being made.

"I think it will be the same. We'll talk about it in terms of what Cam's role is but as I sit here right now, I have no reason or thoughts of changing. We've seen Cam and seen what he can do. This is a chance for us to see where Sam's at and would love to see his growth into the next game."

With Darnold due $18 million in 2022, the Panthers need to figure out if they want to play out the next year with him or move on from him if at all possible.

The Panthers and Buccaneers are scheduled to kick off this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. EST.

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