Panthers fall to Redskins 29-21

Following a brutal November that saw the Panthers go 1-3, Week 13 was supposed to be a safety valve to help Carolina get off the snide.

Instead, a bruising afternoon turned sour as the Redskins collected their third win of the year 29-21, knocking the Panthers to 5-7 and virtually eliminating them from playoff contention. Washington secured the win by scoring 29 unanswered points after Carolina had opened the game with 14-straight points, as they held on late.

Trailing 29-14 late in the game, Carolina managed to pull to within 8 points; a successful onside kick recovery put the team in a position to tie the game as time wound down in the fourth. On fourth-and-goal however, quarterback Kyle Allen was chased out of the pocket and sacked, fumbling the football and sealing the loss for the Panthers. It is their fifth loss in six games; their last victory came in Charlotte on November 3rd against the Tennessee Titans.

The honeymoon phase is clearly over for Allen, whose early season success has wilted under the pressure of late-season football.

Despite posting a solid performance in a close loss on the road in New Orleans in Week 12, Allen fell back to Earth on Sunday with a dismal showing, going 27 for 46 with 278 yards and an interception. The young quarterback did throw two touchdown passes in the first quarter and added a late rushing touchdown in the fourth, but the in-between period was marked by poor decision making, poor throws, and poor protection from his offensive line with seven sacks on the day.

Injuries emerged as a concern during the course of the game Sunday; defensive linemen Brian Burns, Gerald McCoy (who returned) and Vernon Butler left at different points in the first half, while tight end Greg Olsen left in the third quarter with a concussion following a scary helmet-to-helmet hit that led to the ejection of the Washington defender. The blow is the latest to a beleaguered Carolina offense trying to piecemeal a winning combination on the field.

Carolina’s 27th-ranked rush defense took another beating on Sunday, made all the worse by Washington’s troubles running the football entering the game.

Redskins halfback Derrius Guice ran for more yards in the game than he had run for all season long, punctuating a dismal showing from Carolina’s front seven by scoring two touchdowns. Despite logging five sacks, the front’s inability to keep Washington’s running game contained ultimately cost the team the game.

An uncharacteristically quiet performance from Christian McCaffrey on the ground was salvaged with 58 receiving yards, pushing him up to 102 yards total on the afternoon. For the Panthers, the first two drives of the game provided a false sense of security for what was to come. Offensive production almost completely stalled after opening up the lead, with drive after drive ending in a punt. Carolina’s third-down conversion success rate continues to be among the worst in the league, a sore spot that continued to hamper the team’s ability to compete on Sunday.

For Ron Rivera’s club, Sunday marks the end of the line in more ways than one.

For the immediate future, Carolina’s playoff hopes are all but dashed. As fans begin to take stock of what could have been in 2019, questions abound over the future of Rivera, his coordinators, and general manager Marty Hurney. Owner David Tepper has committed to building a winning tradition in Carolina, but with the team seemingly having given up on playing for Rivera, many are left to wonder if the nine-year head coach is truly on his way out.

The schedule does not get any easier for the Panthers in Week 14, as Carolina heads on the road for a division rivalry game with the Atlanta Falcons, the same Falcons who thrashed the Panthers in Charlotte 29-3 in two weeks ago. If Carolina harbors any hopes to salvage a dismal 2019 campaign, a victory over the division rival Falcons must be at the top of the list. Nothing about Sunday’s performance against Washington exudes any confidence that the team will be able to rise to the occasion.

For Panthers fans, Sunday marks the continuation of a disappointing trend of under-performing against teams that should be beaten. Despite entering the game as home favorites, Carolina drops another home game to a sub-.500 team, the third time they’ve done so in 2019. With Seattle, Indianapolis and New Orleans looming to close out the season, the distinct possibility remains that Carolina has seen its final victory of the season, a result that would certainly end with significant personnel changes.

Kickoff in Atlanta is scheduled for 1 PM on FOX.