Adrian Wilson Vice President Of Player Personnel | Carolina Panthers Website
Adrian Wilson Vice President Of Player Personnel | Carolina Panthers Website
The reaction in the Panthers locker room was mixed following their 34-24 loss to the Bengals. Despite notable progress on offense over the past two weeks, players were left frustrated by missed opportunities, particularly from their first possession.
After driving 68 yards to the Bengals' 2-yard line, the Panthers failed to score a touchdown. Chuba Hubbard ran for one yard but then gained no additional ground. Andy Dalton's pass to Diontae Johnson fell incomplete, and Hubbard was stopped twice more on third and fourth downs.
Right guard Robert Hunt supported coach Dave Canales' decision to go for it on fourth down but admitted it would haunt him: "I've got to put that on us... We've got to do a little better there in the red zone."
The Panthers have improved offensively, averaging 30 points, 406 total yards, and 143 rushing yards per game in Weeks 3 and 4 compared to just 6.5 points, 176 total yards, and 74 rushing yards per game in the first two weeks. However, Dalton downplayed any notion of building momentum: "This was an NFL football game; it came down to a couple of plays that made the difference."
Coach Canales emphasized focusing on details rather than generalities: "The first drive, we've got to finish those in the red zone... It ended up being a huge part of the game."
Center Austin Corbett highlighted team continuity as a positive development: "Everybody fighting for one another... There's a fight; there's determination." He stressed that improvement begins with scrutinizing film for fine details.
Despite improvements like better protection for Dalton and strong performances from Hubbard, dropped passes from Johnson, Jonathan Mingo, and Xavier Legette were costly. Johnson acknowledged his own miss but also encouraged Legette after his drop: "It's just what's he going to do in that next moment?"
Johnson emphasized attention to detail as crucial for future success: "Once we finish... we get those down... I feel like it's a different team." He remains optimistic about building off their current progress.
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