The Panthers Played 1920s Football In The 2020s

The Carolina Panthers had 40 net yards passing on Sunday, in a game where they never once held the lead. Bryce Young averaged 1.54 yards per dropback on plays that didn’t end in him scrambling. Jalen Coker led the team in receiving yards, nearly doubling second place, with sixteen of them. Stud rookie Tet McMillan had five yards. WR2 Xavier Leggette had three yards.

It’s safe to say that whatever buttons Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde pushed before and during this game, they were the correct buttons to push. This is the kind of one-sided dominance that you’d expect to see in a college game, where Alabama plays against Troy, or Oregon draws Idaho. Maybe against a fourth string quarterback who has no business playing.

But this was former #1 overall pick Bryce Young, starting quarterback for a Carolina Panthers team that has playoff aspirations with one week to go. They had all their starters except for right guard Rob Hunt, who has been missing for some time anyway. This Panthers team has upset the Los Angeles Rams and beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the last month.

It’s a real team. But when it came to throwing the ball on this particular Sunday, they didn’t really look like one. And don’t forget to consider that their running game was perfectly competent as well, averaging about four yards a carry before a couple of game-ending kneeldowns. How did Seattle do it? Star receiver Tetairoa McMillan chimed in after the game.

McMillan Explains It All

In a locker room interview shortly after the game ended, McMillan referenced how Seattle caught Carolina off-guard by playing more man coverage than expected.

“I think it just caught us by surprise. And obviously it puts more pressure on the quarterback, because they get back there faster,” he explained. “But then, at the same time, it’s up to the receivers to get open. To create a clear picture for Bryce.”

McMillan’s lone catch of the day came with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, Carolina down by ten and deep in their own territory. Facing 4th and 17, Bryce Young checked it down over the middle to Tet, who was quickly tackled by Julian Love to get the ball back to Seattle’s offense. It was a day to forget for him in particular, who has had an excellent rookie campaign to this point.

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It certainly makes sense why Carolina wouldn’t expect Seattle to play much man defense. According to data collected by Football Insights, Seattle’s defense is in zone on 78% of their snaps and in man coverage on just 17% (the remaining 5% is plays where the coverage type wasn’t clear). The split in the previous six games is 78%/21%.

There are a few other teams that play man less than Seattle, but not many, which goes well with their near-league low blitz rate. So you can certainly understand why Carolina wasn’t anticipating anything different. After all, the way in which Seattle has played defense all season has resulted in one of the best squads in football and inside track to the top seed in the NFC.

But Macdonald clearly saw an advantage in switching things up, a luxury afforded to him with elite cover corners like Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen on the field. Clearly, former Seahawk coach Dave Canales wasn’t ready for it, and on a day where Seattle needed an elite defensive performance to get the win, this was a big part of the formula.

This is the sort of thing that Seattle will hopefully have in their back pocket come postseason time, when the edges are small and unexpected coaching adjustments can make a big difference. With the offense having some issues in recent weeks, the defense may need to be elite to get wins, so it’s good to have a Mike Macdonald on your side.