Bucs 41, Panthers 17: Instant reaction as Carolina loses 7th straight to end season

The Carolina Panthers ended their season with a thud Sunday, losing 41-17 to Tampa Bay to finish 5-12 in head coach Matt Rhule’s second year.

It was an unlucky seven for the Panthers — once 5-5, they lost their final seven games of the season, and most of them weren’t close. Sam Darnold played every snap but one Sunday at quarterback for Carolina in the season finale, as Cam Newton likely closed out his Carolina career with just a one-play cameo.

Newton played his one snap on the Panthers’ first drive, handing the ball off.

But Rhule and the offensive staff ignored Newton on a critical fourth-and-inches from the Tampa Bay 1 in the second quarter, instead trying to use Darnold on the sort of QB sneak that has always been Newton’s specialty.

Darnold mishandled the ball on the snap and ended up a few inches short on the sneak. “Fourth and inches, you should be able to convert that,” Darnold said afterward.

Shortly after that, Tampa Bay took over the game, as Carolina lost by at least 17 points for the fourth time during this seven-game losing streak.

Newton never saw the field for the Panthers in the final three quarters. Brandon Zylstra threw a pass for Carolina, but Newton did not. He will be a free agent for the 2022 season, while Darnold is signed through 2022.

The Panthers led 7-0 after the first quarter, sacking Tom Brady on his very first pass attempt and largely bottling up Tampa Bay’s offense until late in the second period.

But after that, Brady was unstoppable. He threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns before coming out of the game in the fourth quarter for the 13-4 Bucs, who will open their Super Bowl defense next week in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

The good news? Carolina will have the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft in late April, as long as the Panthers don’t trade it away for the help they badly need at quarterback and offensive line.

DJ Moore ends a nice season

Among the bright spots for the Panthers was, once again, No. 1 wide receiver DJ Moore.

He had several plays that ranged from good to spectacular, including a leap completely over a Tampa Bay defender trying to tackle him low. He also ran the ball on an end-around to convert a fourth-and-1. He grabbed a rocket up the middle that was thrown slightly behind him.

Moore also dropped a pass — too often a problem with him — but he nevertheless finished his third straight season with 1,100-plus receiving yards. The Panthers’ 2022 QB, whether it’s Darnold or someone else, will be lucky to have him.

The Panthers had a scary moment late as Moore tried to make a miraculous diving catch in the end zone and then stayed down. He walked off under his own power, however, and on the next play, Anderson made his own superb catch for a 19-yard TD to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 24-17.

Other Panthers-Bucs notes

▪ Is it just me or does Chuba Hubbard seem frustrated after nearly every carry, like he always thinks he should gave broken it big? Probably a good trait. Hubbard ended the season with six TDs, which was first on the team, just ahead of Newton, Darnold and Moore.

▪ The Panthers were slated to get CBS’s No. 1 announcing team for this one, and instead got half of it. Tony Romo still called the game as an analyst, but Jim Nantz was in COVID protocols. He was replaced by Tom McCarthy, who did a solid job.

▪ You don’t get many chances to intercept Tom Brady, but Carolina cornerback Rashaan Melvin had a great one on Tampa Bay’s first series. Instead, he dropped a ball that hit him right in the hands.

▪ Carolina tried several trick plays in the game, but none worked for big yardage. Zylstra’s wide receiver throwback to Ameer Abdullah had a shot, but Romo said in the booth that the glove Zylstra wore ended up messing up the throw, which was too far in front of Abdullah.

▪ Darnold’s best series was undoubtedly the very first of the game. He had a nice throw under pressure to Moore, scrambled to avoid a sure sack and executed a hard count to get another first down. He ended up throwing a touch pass to Hubbard for the TD, which put Carolina up, 7-0.

▪ Brady had limited options Sunday, but he still had Rob Gronkowski. The tight end had his 32nd career 100-yard receiving game, burning the Panther linebackers and safeties again and again.