The Defense Isn’t Elite Anymore

The Panthers’ defense has long been considered one of the best in the NFL, but not this year. Carolina has all kinds of playmakers, but simply isn’t playing the way we’ve all become accustomed to seeing the Panthers play on the defensive side of the ball.

Carolina didn’t have any sacks on Sunday, and the Panthers also failed to create any takeaways. They had just one sack and no takeaways against Pittsburgh as well, and numbers like that aren’t going to get it done.

I’m not saying that the Panthers don’t have the personnel to turn their defense back into one of the league’s top units. After all, Luke Kuechly is still at middle linebacker and he’s surrounded by fellow linebackers Thomas Davis and Shaq Thompson. Carolina also has a talented group of defensive linemen, and its secondary is much improved from the past two seasons.

Something just isn’t clicking right now on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe it’s the coaching, as Eric Washington is in his first year as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator after previously serving as their defensive line coach.

Whatever the problem is, Carolina needs to figure things out. The Panthers are missing tackles, registering very few sacks and failing to create takeaways. That has to change quickly if they hope to reach the playoffs and make some noise when they get there.

For now, though, one thing is clear: the Panthers’ defense isn’t elite anymore.