Panthers 27, Seahawks 37: Panthers struggle with penalties in their third straight loss

The Panthers hung around for three quarters before the bottom dropped out in the fourth. Just like the first two weeks.

The Carolina Panthers hung around for three-plus quarters but again collapsed in the fourth quarter as they fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 37-27.

First Quarter

The Panthers started with their defense on the field, and again the unit started the game strong. They forced a three-and-out. The offense also had a similar start to previous weeks. The Andy Dalton-led group marched up the field and into the red zone, but a sack and a penalty backed the offense up and forced a field goal that Eddie Pineiro banged down the middle. The Seahawks answered with their own field goal,

Second quarter

The Panthers ended the first quarter with an inept drive. The Seahawks hit a deep pass to DK Metcalf, but they stalled out in the red zone after their own holding penalty and a Brian Burns sack where he made the offensive tackle completely whiff his pass block. The Panthers again couldn’t move the ball due to the offensive line getting overwhelmed. The Seahawks got a big run for Zach Charbonnet where he shook Troy Hill at the line of scrimmage, but they were again held to a field goal thanks in part to a near interception by Donte Jackson in the end zone.

The Panthers finally clicked on their ensuing possession. Miles Sanders made a move in the hole to pick up a second and long. A couple plays later, Andy Dalton found DJ Chark wide open down the sideline. He hit a defender with a spin move and strolled into the end zone to put the Panthers up 10-9. The Panthers quickly got the ball back from a Deion Jones interception but could only muster another field goal.

A couple of long catch and runs from Metcalf set the Seahawks up for their fourth field goal of the half. The Panthers couldn’t respond and went into the half with a 13-12 lead.

Third Quarter

The Panthers came out of the half hot with a one yard run, an incomplete pass, and a Terrace Marshall drop. Again, the Seahawks hit a couple of big plays but stalled out in Panthers territory and kicked another field goal.

On the next drive, the Panthers hit a big pass to DJ Chark, who made a fantastic catch on the sideline. However, he dropped an easy slant a couple of plays later. The Panthers were forced to attempt a 55 yard field goal, but Pineiro pushed it just to the right. Kenneth Walker matriculated the ball down the field for the Seahawks despite a 1st and 25 early in the drive. He punched it in for the touchdown to put the Seahawks up nine.

The Panthers got some help from a friendly pass interference call to keep the drive alive on a third down. A couple of big plays were somewhat offset by Ikem Ekwonu’s third and fourth false start penalties of the game. He got bailed out by a nice completion to Tommy Tremble and then a catch and run by Adam Thielen where he couldn’t quite reach the end zone. Miles Sanders punched it in one play later.

Fourth Quarter

The Seahawks responded by marching right up the field with their ground game. Charbonnet did most of the dirty work running to the Panthers left. He was spelled by Walker, who ran almost completely unbothered off that side to restore the Seahawks’ nine point lead.

The Panthers had a nice drive kept alive by an Andy Dalton scramble, but more false start penalties derailed it. They even false started on the punt that gave the Seahawks the ball back with a nine point lead and only eight minutes left.

The Panthers defense forced the three and out they needed. The offense didn’t do their part though. They ended up in a 4th and 2 and picked it up, but an illegal shift on the opposite side of the formation pulled the play back. Dalton was sacked on the next play, ending any hopes of a Panthers comeback. The Seahawks tacked on an extra touchdown and embarrassed Jeremy Chinn on the two point conversion for good measure. Andy Dalton found Thielen for the Panthers own garbage time touchdown.

Overview

The Panthers struggled to contain the Seahawks ground game, especially in the second half. The drives that were limited to field goals turned into touchdowns.

The offense was okay when they got to run plays, but self inflicted wounds were their undoing. There were a handful of drops on easy catches. But more importantly, the Panthers committed eight false start penalties. Most came on third downs and turned third and shorts into third and longs.

The Panthers will try to get off the schneid in Week 4 against the winless Minnesota Vikings.