Teddy Bridgewater film review: What he did right for the Panthers and where he fell short

A few things became clear when watching Teddy Bridgewater on film.

When he’s protected in the pocket, he’s capable of making accurate and sometimes tough throws. The Panthers started the 2020 season 3-2 without their best player, Christian McCaffrey. In those first few games, Bridgewater played well.

But he was also inconsistent throughout the course of the season and struggled late in the fourth quarter when it mattered most. Bridgewater was 4-11 as a starter, and was 0-for-8 in game-winning or game-tying situations.

Bridgewater isn’t all to blame. The offensive line was inconsistent. McCaffrey missed 13 games. The Panthers never established the run. The play-calling was often questionable.

And the defense had its struggles, too.

But Bridgewater didn’t do much to make things better. He particularly struggled during the final five games of the season.

Through the first 10 games, he threw 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions and ranked in the top five in the league in completion percentage.

He suffered a knee injury against the Buccaneers in Week 10, which forced him to miss a game. Then, over the last five games, he threw two touchdowns and four interceptions and completed 62.9% of his passes. He was also sacked 12 times during that span.

Former Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, who watched every game last season, said he felt Bridgewater tried to do too much.

“It’s something that I have fallen into numerous times,” Delhomme told The Observer. “You try to do too much. You think ‘we have some deficiencies in certain places,’ ‘we’re having trouble running the football.’ ... And I just think it became pressing.”

Nothing illustrates that more than when Bridgewater fumbled it at the goal line in the second quarter of the Panthers’ Week 15 game against the Green Bay Packers. The Panthers had just picked up a first down at the Green Bay 1-yard line, so they rushed to the line of scrimmage before running a quarterback sneak.

As Bridgewater took the snap, he tried to jump over the pile of Green Bay defenders to score. Instead, the ball was knocked out of his hands, and the Packers recovered it.

“That play just can’t happen,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said after their 24-16 loss, adding that one of their rules is to never reach the ball over the goal line unless it’s fourth down.

“I heard the guys from the other team calling out the sneak,” Bridgewater said after the game. “So I thought they were going to go low. So I was going to try to go over the top. But of all the times that I’ve run the sneak, I’ve always just followed the wedge. And I can’t get to that moment and do anything different.”

Bridgewater, who is entering the second of a three-year, $63 million contract with the Panthers, is not considered the long-term answer at quarterback in Carolina, and it’s likely the Panthers draft his replacement in April.

But it’s also possible Bridgewater could be starting Week 1, while his understudy learns behind him. It’s worth looking at what made him successful early in the season and why he struggled later.

The Observer reviewed film on four Panthers’ games in 2020 — the 23-16 win over the Falcons in Week 5, the 27-24 loss to the Saints in Week 7, the 28-27 loss to the Vikings in Week 12, and the 32-27 loss to the Broncos in Week 14. They were two of Bridgewater’s best games and two of his worst.

One of the biggest takeaways from watching film on Bridgewater was that he was less comfortable in the pocket in Weeks 12 and 14 than he was in Weeks 5 and 7, despite being pressured the same.

Bridgewater already has limitations with his mobility, and suffering a knee injury didn’t help.

Teddy Bridgewater was able to extend plays

Bridgewater had arguably his best game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. He completed 23 of 28 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.

Some of the throws he made were quite impressive. He showed an ability to extend plays when needed. He was calm under pressure.

For instance, the Panthers were facing a third-and-8 from the Carolina 49-yard line. At the snap, Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson comes off the left edge from Bridgewater’s blindside untouched. Bridgewater sees this and avoids the sack, rolling left.

What’s important to notice is he keeps his eyes downfield and looks to extend the play instead of trying to scramble for the first down. That buys wide receiver Curtis Samuel enough time to change direction, and Bridgewater throws before he’s hit by Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Bridgewater connects with Samuel on a 22-yard pass play and a first down.

That play put the Panthers in field-goal range and helped put points on the board.

Two weeks earlier against the Falcons, the Panthers were facing third-and-4 from their own 43-yard line. The Falcons rushed five. Atlanta defensive end Charles Harris pushed tackle Russell Okung into Bridgewater’s face, but Bridgewater remains calm.

He throws a perfect pass to Moore who is running a quick out route. And Moore does the rest, racing down the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.

These plays showed Bridgewater’s poise under pressure early in the season. He was confident in himself and his ability to make plays.

Bridgewater lost that poise for the Panthers

But he didn’t keep the same poise he had in Weeks 5 and 7. There were also times when he panicked under pressure, or when his first option was covered.

In Week 12 against the Vikings, the Panthers were facing a third-and-11 from the Vikings’ 12-yard line with a chance to tie the game early in the second quarter.

The Panthers were in a shotgun formation with wide receivers Moore, Samuel and Robby Anderson split out right, tight end Ian Thomas was on the left and running back Mike Davis in the backfield. Bridgewater’s first option appears to be Moore, but he’s covered.

When he sees Moore is covered, Bridgewater gets jumpy.

He looks quickly to Davis, who is running an angle route, and throws it. But it’s bad timing because Anderson is also in the area, as well as the defender guarding him.

Bridgewater’s pass is then intercepted.

While the pressure was coming, Bridgewater had more time to make a throw to Anderson, who was covered by a linebacker. He should have noticed the extra defenders there.

In Week 14 against the Broncos, the Panthers had first-and-10 from the Broncos’ 49-yard line with 44 seconds left in the first half. They trailed 13-7 and were hoping to put some points on the board before halftime.

The Broncos used a disguised blitz, rushing five players. Broncos safety Kareem Jackson came off the right edge untouched. By the time right tackle Taylor Moton noticed Jackson was blitzing, it was too late.

Bridgewater tried to escape Jackson but he pressed to only make matters worse. Bridgewater was sacked for a 16-yard loss, and the clock kept running.

What we learned from watching Bridgewater’s film

Bridgewater is capable of putting his team in position to win if other pieces are clicking.

That was evident when the Panthers went on a three-game winning streak from Weeks 3-5. During that span, he completed 74% of his passes, averaged 274.6 yards passing, and threw five touchdowns to only one interception. He was also sacked only twice.

But he also has limitations. He’s not Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers. He won’t throw 50-yard touchdowns consistently, and he’s not particularly fast. He’s not going put his team on his back and carry them. He’s never done that at any point in his career, and perhaps the expectation that he would carry the Panthers when McCaffrey went down was unfair.

His confidence wavered during the latter part of the season. Whether that had to do with being 0-for-8 in game-winning or game-tying situations, or his knee is unclear.

“I personally feel like ever since he got hurt in the second half of the Tampa Bay game, Teddy hasn’t played his best ball,” Rhule said in January. “So for us, we have to evaluate our total offense, what we’re doing, the players the schemes, at every position including Teddy.”

“Teddy has to have a tremendous offseason. It’s been a long time since he’s played an entire year, and part of being a quarterback in this league is being able to withstand the physical toll of the season and playing your best football at the end of the year. I don’t know if I’ve seen that from him, so we’ll see moving forward.”

If Bridgewater is Carolina’s starter in Week 1 next fall, the Panthers’ coaching staff must figure what went well in those first five weeks and replicate that.

And Bridgewater must perform.