NFL Week 7: Carolina Panthers vs. Philadelphia Eagles Recap

Keith Allison via Flickr

NFL

Panthers Score 21 points In 4th Quarter To Upset Eagles 21-17

The Carolina Panthers completed their largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Panthers were down 17-0 after three quarters of play and went on to score 21 unanswered points.

Carolina pushed Philadelphia back below .500 at 3-4 while the Panthers improved to 4-2.

First 3 Quarters Of Play: Philadelphia Dominance

The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the first three quarters of play. ESPN had the Eagles at 98.2% win probability at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Eagles only punted once the entire game before the fourth quarter. The only turnover was a missed field goal by Jake Elliot mostly due to the windy conditions. With the exception of the missed field goal and punt, it was nearly perfect performance.

A 7-play drive in the first quarter led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. After a successful 46-yard field goal by Elliot in the second quarter, the Eagles put together a nine-minute, 17-play drive resulting in another touchdown. Wentz passed his way up the field with the help of a few runs ultimately climaxing in a one-yard scoring pass to tight end Dallas Goedert.

After the first half, the Panthers only possed the ball for a little over 10 minutes, while the Eagles held it for over 19. Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton had just 24 passing yards and 24 rushing yards while running back Christian McCaffrey had 25 yards to boot.

Each of the Panthers’ drives before the fourth quarter ended in a punt as they were only able to move the chains four times in the first half. Carolina’s 97 total yards in the first and third quarter left them near lifeless on the field. Meanwhile, the Eagles seemed to be up to their old tricks of last season.

The Fourth Quarter: Panthers Pound As The Eagles Sleep

Carolina scored their first touchdown of the game off a trick play which led to a 14-yard rushing touchdown by WR Curtis Samuel. After a quick 6-play drive resulting in a punt by the Eagles, the Panthers were down 17-6 with 6:52 left on the clock.

Carolina took only 2:44 to score another touchdown, this time an 18-yard pass from Cam Newton to Devin Funchess put six on the board.

A 3-0 drive by Philadelphia gave Carolina the ball back with 2:17 left on the clock and the score at 17-14, the Eagles still ahead. The Panthers took just 55 seconds on this drive to put another touchdown on the books. 69 yards came from just ten plays, the last one being a one-yard touchdown pass to Mr. Reliable, TE Greg Olsen. Olsen’s touchdown put the Panthers ahead 21-17.

Philadelphia stayed quiet throughout the fourth quarter, specifically their defense. While they had held Newton and company to just 88 yards in the first half, Carolina was able to score three touchdowns in less than 9 minutes of possession. It was up to Philadelphia’s offense to put together a last-minute rally to save a game they had practically put away.

An almost sure touchdown pass was made incomplete due to pass interference by Carolina moving the Eagles up to Carolina’s 22-yard line. An eight-yard run by RB Wendell Smallwood made it 3rd and 2 on the Panthers’ 14-yard line with 37 seconds left. Philadelphia also had two timeouts left.

Head coach Doug Pederson decided to throw the ball on both 3rd and 4th down resulting in an incomplete pass and fumble respectively. The fumble by Wentz caused by Julius Peppers and recovered by Kyle Love sealed the win for the Panthers.

What Happened

Carolina Panthers

While Carolina took the win in Philadelphia, they have some serious work to do. Their inability to put any points on the board through three-quarters of play is unacceptable if they want to win their division. For the most part, Carolina’s defense didn’t seem to have an answer to Philadelphia’s passing game. They contained the under-used run game well however their pass rush was ineffective until the last play.

Cam Newton’s lackluster passing abilities were on full display during the contest. While Newton has a unique ability to extend plays and confuse defenses, he will likely never be an elite passer. Newton did, however, delegate his targets more liberally than normal. Olsen who is one of his favorite targets was quiet for most of the game.

Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia had a breakthrough game last week against the New York Giants, and it looked like this Week 7 matchup was going to be their breakout game. After their fourth-quarter performance, the former Super Bowl champions looked more like chumps than ever before this season. There was a host of problems on Philadelphia’s sideline from the head coach to the players.

Pederson’s resistance against the run game has come back to bite the Eagles this entire season. The run game against Carolina was recklessly abandoned in the second quarter and should have been resurrected on 3rd and 2. The absence of Frank Reich and John DeFilippo could be felt in the last red zone attempt. Wentz’ instinct to go for the big play ultimately left him blind to a wide open Smallwood.

While the Eagles’ offense has problems they need to work out, the defense is much more concerning. Cornerback Jalen Mills refused to press any of Carolina’s receivers allowing Newton to hit his men on buttonhook routes thereby marching up the field for three consecutive touchdowns. In Mills’ attempt to not be burned downfield he got burned in the midfield.

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz kept his Eagles in a nickel formation while Carolina was playing catch-up. Had safety Malcolm Jenkins not be in the nickel and available for downfield help, it’s possible one of those three touchdowns don’t happen. The Eagles’ pass rush had done a great job all day of collapsing Carolina’s pocket but failed to stay disciplined in the fourth quarter.

While fans are incredibly worried about the future of the team, Pederson is confident, potentially overconfident.

Looking Ahead

The Carolina Panthers are now 4-2 and are second in the NFC South behind the 5-1 New Orleans Saints. The Panthers lost their first division matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.

This win was crucial for Carolina to not fall too far behind New Orleans in the division. The Panthers next matchup is against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 while their next divisional matchup is against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9.

After seven weeks of football, the Philadelphia Eagles are now 3-4. The Eagles have had the easiest schedule thus far in the league yet have failed to win completely winnable games. All of their losses have been by six points or fewer.

The Eagles are still second in their division at 1-0 due to a Cowboys loss to Washington on Sunday. The poor performance of the division is the only thing keeping postseason hopes alive for the Eagles.

Philadelphia’s next game is against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8 followed by their bye week and then a divisional matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Both the Jaguars and Cowboys games are a must win for the flailing franchise. The Eagles won’t play division-frontrunner Washington until Week 13.

Photo Credit

Featured Image courtesy of Keith Allison

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