Falcons @ Panthers
Final Score: Panthers 9, Falcons 7
Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)
In a rainy game that you could have attended for a whopping $0.45 cents, the Panthers prevailed in what will go down as one of the ugliest games of the year. Cordarrelle Patterson scored the only offensive touchdown, while Eddy Piñeiro drilled three field goals, including the game winner as time expired.
One Up
- Eddy Piñeiro – Kicked three field goals in the rain, including the game winner
Two Down
- Bijan Robinson –
- Offenses – This game was not fun to watch if you like offense
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
Desmond Ridder: 12/20, 152 yards, TD, INT, fumble (recovered) | 5 carries, -2 yards
This game was a rainy mess and Atlanta was smart not to let Ridder try to air it out. He was fine for most of the day, but he made two throws that he shouldn’t have. One was a dangerous throw to Bijan Robinson in the flat that was almost intercepted and returned for a pick six by Brian Burns. The other was an interception deep in Carolina territory midway through the fourth quarter that ended up losing Atlanta the game. I think you know what you’re getting out of Ridder at this point.
Running Back
Bijan Robinson: 7 carries, 11 yards, fumble (lost) | 3 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards
Tyler Allgeier: 14 carries, 45 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yard
Cordarrelle Patterson: 5 carries, -2 yards | 3 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards, TD
Listen – I know the numbers or the DVOA or whatever for the Panthers defense say they’re one of the worst in the league. I’m here to tell you don’t believe the numbers. I have been stuck doing What We Saw duty for six of the last seven Panthers games, and I can tell you that this defense passes they eye test. They are ferocious up front, led by Brian Burns at outside linebacker. Defensive end Derrick Brown, a former first round pick, and nose tackle Shy Tuttle have also played really well. This defense allowed an average of 144.3 rushing yards per game in the six weeks before their bye. After the bye? 104.7 rushing yards per game in seven games. Including this game, the average is down to 98.1 rushing yards per game. I don’t know where that ranks league wide, but it is significantly better.
Bijan Robinson was not the lead back in this offense by any means. He split carries with Tyler Allgeier on their first drive before Allgeier took over on the second and third drives. Bijan received a carry on 4th and three inside Carolina territory, and he had nowhere to go with it. He dropped a catchable pass in the flat, and also took a carry down to the two yard line only to have Cordarrelle Patterson punch it in for the score on the next play. Bijan’s biggest mistake came late in the third quarter, fumbling the ball over to Carolina deep inside Atlanta’s own territory. He did not get another touch for the rest of the game.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jonnu Smith: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 61 yards
One huge catch and run down the right sideline that almost resulted in a touchdown was the highlight of Jonnu Smith‘s day.
Kyle Pitts: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 37 yards
Kyle Pitts led the team in targets, but does that even matter if he only had four of them?
Drake London: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, London caught his only two passes of the day on Atlanta’s final drive of the game. He faced tight coverage all day from Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn, and it really just wasn’t the type of game where you try to force feed your best WR in tight coverage. Had Ridder not thrown an awful interception to end the drive, it would have been a winning formula.
KhaDarel Hodge: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
Bryce Young: 18/24, 167 yards, 3 sacks, fumble (recovered) | 4 carries, 9 yards
Bryce Young has been plagued by poor offensive line play leaving him no time in the pocket to look downfield. He had time to throw in this game, but he really struggled with feel in the pocket and often made poor, premature decisions when he had more time to work. Here’s one example:
Bryce Young has been getting sacked like crazy this season. He finally had some time to sit in the pocket and look downfield, but he got anxious, moved up in the pocket prematurely, and threw the ball downfield to nobody. He had Chark open had he just been more patient. pic.twitter.com/qXICoItMTO
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) December 18, 2023
Overall, he did look better in this game. One thing I would probably reconsider if I were Young would be the choice to not wear a glove. He had multiple balls slip out of his hand and come out funky, including one on 3rd and three late in the game that Jonathan Mingo thankfully came back to make a play on. A glove definitely would have helped him get a better grip on the ball. Young drove Carolina down the field for a 17 play, 90 yard game-winning drive that ate up the final 7:35 of the game and set up Eddy Piñeiro for the game winning field goal.
Running Back
Chuba Hubbard: 22 carries, 87 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
Chuba Hubbard is the clear number one RB for the Panthers right now. The fantasy results simply aren’t there for him, though, in an offense that struggles to make it to the red zone. Hubbard’s 87 yards on the ground were largely propped up by a 22 yard run on Carolina’s first play of the first half and a 21 yard run on their first play of the second half. He also had carries for 11 and 18 yards to begin their second drive of the second half. That’s 72 yards on four carries and 15 yards on the other 18 carries. He’s probably not going to win you a fantasy championship this year, but he’s going into a contract year in 2024 as the clear lead dog in this offense. He might have sneaky value in drafts next season in what hopefully should be an improved offense.
Miles Sanders: 6 carries, 2 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
Sanders was an afterthought in this game and made no impact.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Adam Thielen: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 43 yards
Thielen nearly converted 4th and 18 inside Atlanta territory but came up inches short. He also dropped a would-be touchdown right at the goal line at the beginning of the 4th quarter – the ball went right off his hands as he fell back into the end zone. It was the difference between a useless fantasy day and a WR2 day for Thielen.
Jonathan Mingo: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 32 yards
As mentioned in Bryce Young‘s blurb, Mingo made a great play to come back and catch a wobbly ball from Young on 3rd and three on their game winning drive. It was a rainy day and Young had a hard time gripping the football for much of it, so there weren’t too many downfield shots and Mingo’s targets were reduced as a result.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 1 yard | 4 carries, 31 yards
DJ Chark Jr.: 2 targets, 1 reception, 18 yards
Made the catch of the day on Carolina’s game-winning drive.
DJ Chark with a sweet grab along the sidelines! The catch of the game thus far. #CarolinaPanthers #ATLvsCAR #NFL #KeepingTheDriveAlive pic.twitter.com/L8CZwB4tTd
— Ryon Johnson (@RyonJohnson) December 17, 2023
Tommy Tremble: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 32 yards
Stephen Sullivan: 1 target, 1 reception, 14 yards