2022 NFL Season, Week 10: Insights From Panthers’ Win Over Falcons

(CTN NEWS) -On Thursday night, the Carolina Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 25–15. The Panthers had suffered an overtime loss to the Falcons just two games before. For the first time this year, the Falcons were defeated by NFC South rivals as they dropped their second straight game. With two touchdowns, D’Onta Foreman was the Panthers’ offensive star.

Panthers’ Win Over Falcons Match Highlights

Insights From Panthers’ Win Over Falcons

1. Early on, the Panthers were very Clear About their Attacking Goals

Defensively, the Falcons came into the contest ranked 31st. So what action took the Panthers? On 17 of their first 23 offensive plays, they ran the ball.

Carolina entered the game averaging 105.3 rush yards per contest, but by halftime, had 128 and finished with 232. Is it odd that they traded Christian McCaffrey before announcing that they were a running team? Of course!

The interim coach is aware that he needs to pound teams with D’Onta Foreman (31 carries! ), his pals, and their teammates, mix in a Laviska Shenault carry and a Walker keeper every now and again, and shorten games.

This is why he has put Steve Wilks on QB3 with P.J. Walker. That is the formula if he wants to win games. Thursday night, it performed rea

2. The Offensive Identity of the Falcons is Yet Unknown

In terms of running attempts going into the game, Atlanta was just behind the Chicago Bears. The Falcons’ (temporary) identity is running the ball, which has been rather successful this year. Yes, there is a call for Kyle Pitts and Drake London to receive the ball more frequently, and we agree.

However, the Falcons began passing the ball early in the game against the Panthers 11 days prior after running the ball 37 times (to only 30 pass dropbacks).

No less in the rain. No, the offensive balance wasn’t off; the first two drives were divided evenly, excluding penalties. On the third drive, Arthur Smith overcompensated by running three straight times against his own end zone.

Who doesn’t enjoy receiving the ball on third-and-4 from one’s own nine-yard line? The Falcons had a bizarre offensive night early on as they got off to a 10-0 deficit and couldn’t recover.

3. The Falcons Need to Talk about Marcus Mariota at Some Point

Mariota has had some positive moments this season, including the 49ers game and the whole second half and overtime of the first meeting with the Panthers. It would be unjust to entirely write Mariota off at this point.

He hasn’t been spectacular for most of the season, was a liability in Week 9, and had a difficult night on Thursday.

Along with labouring, it was also making inexperienced errors like throwing over his body, taking terrible sacks rather than tossing it away, overthrowing a 6-foot-6 Kyle Pitts who was wide open, throwing from behind without looking, etc.

Carolina lost at least two potential interceptions throughout the contest. The Falcons have had a few opportunities where they could have potentially tried Desmond Ridder.

Is this a Kellen Mond-like scenario, or not? Or perhaps Arthur Smith has faith in his offensive line to protect the rookie? Does he still think his team has a chance to win? Another element? Please let us know.

We begin to question whether Smith wouldn’t want a new starting quarterback next year the longer Ridder is out this season.

4. Ikem Ekwonu might be Carolina’s Prized Asset

In a relatively dismal season for the Panthers overall, Ekwonu quietly pulled together a nice rookie year. But if Ekwonu keeps playing as they did the last few times, they will have eliminated the crucial left tackle position for the foreseeable future.

There were a few rookie mistakes on Thursday night, most notably back-to-back penalties when the Panthers have backed up and two additional flags we can’t ignore.

Early in the season, there were indications that he had some serious work ahead of him. For him to move forward, those must be completely cleaned up. But his best work exemplifies the type of player the Panthers could have.

Ekwonu is precisely the vicious run blocker he was projected to be coming out of school, and he has shown significant progress as a pass protector. He has led the way in that area throughout the whole game.

When Ekwonu corrects his errors and reaches his peak over the course of the following three seasons, we believe general manager Scott Fitterer and his staff may have a great player.

5. P.J. Walker—is he the one?

Some people were surprised when Wilks announced Monday morning that Walker would be his starting quarterback. After all, Baker Mayfield outperformed him after he had a terrible first half against the Bengals on Sunday (two picks, three completions).

No one would have been surprised if Wilks had returned to Mayfield, despite the fact that the damage was done during garbage time. However, Wilks has strongly veered away from everything that Matt Rhule, his former boss, seemed to have advocated.

Many of Rhule’s helpers had left by this point. The offensive has a new identity. And Wilks now appears to enjoy his relationship with Walker. According to him, there is a simpler way to run the offence he appears to be leaning toward.

Of course, this raises the question of what comes next for Mayfield and Sam Darnold, but Walker is not a candidate to start the following season. But would he be a good enough backup for a rookie quarterback? Absolutely.

There has been some thinking put into this, even if there is a potential downside because Wilks might not return as coach.

The fastest speed of Laviska Shenault’s career as a ball carrier was achieved on his 41-yard TD run, according to the Next Gen stat of the game. On a play with a 6.0% chance of a touchdown, he was only projected to gain 18 yards.

On 15 attempts, the Panthers converted a season-high six third downs.

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