What Matt Rhule said about Sam Darnold, offensive line struggles in loss to the Saints

Panthers coach Matt Rhule said after a challenging week of players dealing with COVID-19, adjusted practice schedules and other distractions, he was happy with his team’s effort level but not the result or offensive line play.

Carolina lost 18-10 to New Orleans on Sunday at the Superdome despite holding a one-point lead late into the third quarter and the Panthers having two fourth-quarter drives to potentially tie the score.

Quarterback Sam Darnold started in place of Cam Newton and opened the game with a career-best nine straight completions for 88 yards. But he was sacked seven times, including 3.5 sacks by Saints defensive end Cam Jordan. Darnold turned it over twice, throwing an interception on the Panthers’ final drive and losing a first-half fumble on a sack inside their own 20-yard line.

“We struggled in protection, knowing coming in that they’re as good a rush team as there is. You saw them against (Tom) Brady a couple weeks ago. Our our whole game plan was to run the football, try to control it, move the ball down the field, keep the game close, win the game in the fourth quarter,” Rhule said. “A lot of throws at the end that are incomplete because of the situation that we’re in and weren’t able to protect him.”

Carolina did control the ball and ran it well at times. As a team, they finished with 26 carries for 88 yards. Chuba Hubbard’s 21-yard rushing touchdown put the Panthers up seven early in the second quarter. However, they wouldn’t score another point. Darnold completed 17 of 26 passes for 132 yards and a 61.7 passer rating.

The Panthers started rookie Brady Christensen at left tackle and Michael Jordan at left guard. Pat Elfein was back at center after missing last week due to COVID. John Miller started at right guard and Taylor Moton at right tackle. It was Carolina’s 11th different offensive line combination this season. Only the Ravens, Bears and Bengals have allowed more sacks than the Panthers.

After starting a perfect 9-for-9, Darnold took a hard sack from safety P.J. Williams with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Williams blitzed off the left edge and wasn’t picked up by either tight end Ian Thomas or running back Ameer Abdullah. The sack proved costly. The defense held the Saints to a field goal but with such a thin margin of error, Rhule said it made huge difference.

“That one was max protection. So Ian (Thomas) got the first one, Amir (Abdullah) has a second one. Who’s right, who’s wrong? I can’t say. But we ended up just going right past that blitzer and we just didn’t execute it. Didn’t pick it up,” Rhule said. They brought a ton of pressure today. That’s really what people are doing. Just bring in a bunch of pressure.”

For the second straight week, the Panthers allowed seven sacks. Rhule said he started Darnold in hopes of evaluating him for next season. But with such suspect protection it is difficult to gauge what Darnold and the offense are trying to accomplish.

Defensively, the Panthers held New Orleans in check into the fourth quarter. At halftime, the Saints had 10 carries for minus-4 yards. Linebacker Frankie Luvu terrorized the line of scrimmage in his first start since Week 7, finishing with game-high nine tackles, three for a loss.

But the defense can only hold for so long. Offensively, Carolina couldn’t move the ball for most of the second half. After netting 132 total yards on their first two possessions, Darold and the offense gained only 2 net yards on their next five drives. Those drives totaled 16 plays and picked up one first down.

Carolina missed a 47-yard go-ahead field goal by kicker Lirim Hajrullahu with 12 minutes to play. Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored on the following drive and Carolina’s offense wasted its final two possessions behind dysfunctional offensive line play.

“When you have guys getting elevated from the practice squad, we have guys changing positions, all those different things, you’re not going to have the unity that that you want. You’re not going to have the cohesiveness that you want,” Rhule said. “I don’t care who you are when you play quarterback, if you don’t have a run game or you don’t have a pretty nice protection, it’s going to be it’s going to be difficult.”

The loss drops Carolina to 5-11 overall and 2-3 in the NFC South. The Panthers did move up one spot in the 2022 NFL draft, jumping from seventh to sixth because the Seahawks defeated the Lions. Carolina concludes its season next week at Tampa Bay.

This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 9:09 PM with the headline "What Matt Rhule said about Sam Darnold, offensive line struggles in loss to the Saints."

Ellis L. Williams

The Charlotte Observer

Hailing from Minnesota, Ellis L. Williams joined the Observer in October 2021 to cover the Carolina Panthers. Prior, he spent two years reporting on the Browns for Cleveland.com/the Plain Dealer. Having escaped cold winters, he’s thrilled to consume football, hoops, music and movies within the Queen City.