Carolina Panthers offensive line let Bryce Young down vs. Bucs

The Carolina Panthers were completely outclassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon in the Sunshine State.

A slew of injuries beget Dave Canales' squad ahead of the week 17 tilt, leaving them undermanned on all three levels of the defense and at key positions on offense. Carolina's offensive line had the large majority of it's preferred starters in tow (Taylor Moton was the only starter missing today's contest), making it one of the team's healthiest units, but they were hammered by Tampa Bay's relentless pass rush for 60 minutes.

Carolina's front did Bryce Young no favors

Bryce Young was pressured on 68.6% of his dropbacks (24 times) against the Buccaneers, the highest pressure rate faced by a quarterback in a game this season.

Eight different Buccaneers defenders finished with multiple pressures on the day.#CARvsTB | #WeAreTheKrewe pic.twitter.com/7RHhcvRVRg
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 29, 2024

Carolina's QB1 was under siege from the jump. Chuba Hubbard's absence left the Panthers completely one-dimensional on offense, and the Buccanners took advantage. A bevy of pressure packages from Todd Bowles had the heads of Carolina's offensive line spinning as they allwed pressure into their quarterback's lap over and over again.

It was quite the change of pace for a unit that had dominated all season. Even when the Panthers had a brush with rock bottom after getting blown out by Bo Nix and the Broncos, they could normally count on their starting group of linemen to handle opposing fronts.

A rotating cast of characters starring Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Taylor Moton, Robert Hunt, among others, found a way to keep their quarterback clean even though the group seemingly changed weekly. Sunday afternoon was totally different: they had no answer for Tampa Bay.

The Panthers have one more shot to re-build the now crumbling vibes that were trending positively as the 2024 season wrapped up. Carolina takes on Atlanta in week 18, a unit with minimal pass rushing teeth, with a chance to knock them out of the playoffs. A rebound performance for Joe Gilbert's offensive line will be the key to making that happen.

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