Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers: Grades vs. Denver Broncos

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Carolina Panthers were unable to defeat the Denver Broncos on the road; starting their season off 0-1.

The NFL regular season full got underway on Sept. 11, but the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos met in Mile High Stadium for the first game of the year on Thursday. Said rematch of Super Bowl 50 was just as exciting as the game from back in February.

This time, the Broncos’ team featured a completely new face under center as Trevor Siermian began his quest to take over for future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. In the end, the outcome was the same as Carolina was defeated in a razor-close game, 21-20. Of course, Graham Gano missed the game-winning field goal; drawing a close to a second-half in which the Panthers left a lot of opportunities on the field.

There are a lot of things to take from this game; both as a positive and as a negative. Even though the Panthers dropped the first game of the season, it will be interesting to see what adjustments are made in the future.

After each game, this piece will look at the Panthers’ performance and grade them across six areas: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, defensive unit, special teams and overall play. These grades will rank from an A down to an F, with an explanation of each ranking.

Here are the Panthers grades for Week 1 of the NFL season.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) reacts following a third down incomplete pass in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks

Grade: C

Cam Newton looked composed and both ruffled at various points in this game. The reigning NFL MVP ended the day with 194 yards from 18 completions on 33 attempts. He also had one touchdown and one interception, along with being sacked three times for a combined loss of18 yards. Both his QBR and quarterback ratings were mediocre at best at 52.1 and 69.5, respectively.

In the first half, Newton looked like he was picking up right where he left off last year; driving the Panthers down the field. Newton and Kelvin Benjamin were connecting like they didn’t miss a season together. Unfortunately, everything stalled in the second half. Some are pointing towards the repeated shots to the head that Newton was taking. Even though Cam drove the team down the field and put them in position to win the game, Newton even referenced that he didn’t remember playing the final drive of the game. That’s a scary condition for any player, especially since the NFL has put many precautions into place to avoid the rash of head injuries to players.

This game was a tale of two halves for Newton. One point he looked like he was leading this team to a win, then everything crumbled apart.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) carries in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs

Grade: A

Running the ball is what the Carolina Panthers do well and very few teams have been able to stop them. Even though the Denver Broncos boast one of the strongest defenses in the league, they couldn’t stop the Panthers from continuing their streak of 100-yard rushing games.

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The Panthers ended the game with 157 yards on 32 attempts with one touchdown. This output continued the Panthers’ streak that dates back to the 2014 season. While this is usually a precursor for a Carolina victory, they were unable to get the job done on Sunday.

Jonathan Stewart led the way with 64 yards on 15 attempts. Newton also added 54 yards on 11 attempts of his own and scored the only rushing touchdown of the game. Ted Ginn Jr., had one big rush for 20 yards, while Fozzy Whittaker and Mike Tolbert contributed 13 and six yards, respectively. What was interesting is that Cameron Artis-Payne didn’t play as he’s been tabbed the main backup for Stewart, but was listed as inactive for Thursday’s game.

It is also worth noting that the Panthers’ offensive line continued to play well after being one of the question marks leading into this season. While it’s only one game into the year, this unit showed promise in moving the defensive line.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Wide Receivers

Grade: B-

There were some key points of intrigue with how the Panthers’ receiving corps performed. On one side, Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen were stars on the field. Benjamin had 91 yards and one touchdown on six receptions. Olsen earned 73 yards on seven receptions to compliment Benjamin’s return.

These two reminded the NFL that Newton has targets that can impact the game at a moment’s notice. They are two big targets that can stretch the field and will be an even greater threat when the rest of the receiving core performs up to their level.

Only five other passes were caught between Corey Brown, Devin Funchess, Ted Ginn Jr., Fozzy Whittaker, Mike Tolbert, and Jonathan Stewart. Newton was unable to spread around the ball to multiple weapons to break down the opposing defense. This unit was expected to be a serious threat to the opposition because Newton has a variety of players to use. If these individuals can’t contribute at a higher level this forces the Panthers into more of a one-dimensional passing attack, it’s going to be severely limiting the depth at this position.

The Broncos defense almost couldn’t contain the strength of the Panthers’ passing attack. It will be interesting to see how well this team performs when firing on all cylinders.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson (22) is tackled by Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) in the third quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Unit

Grade: B-

The Panthers’ defense performed well against the Broncos for majority of the game. Continuing on the trend of forcing takeaways, the Panthers had two interceptions by Thomas Davis and Bene Benwikere, while Shaq Thompson recovered a Broncos’ fumble.

Luke Kuechly keeps this unit on his back as he had 10 solo tackles on the evening. James Bradberry stepped into his role quite well with six total tackles and one deflected pass.

As a unit this group kept the Broncos’ offense in check for majority of the game. The Broncos completed only five of ten third-down attempts but completed a key fourth down conversion late in the game. Even though Denver was under the leadership of a young quarterback, their unit gained a total 307 yards against this defense.

The secondary held up as they allowed only 159 yards passing but the Broncos rushers earned 148 on the ground—a stark difference to how the unit has performed in the past. Their performance in the fourth quarter was the most telling. Denver scored 14 points to come from behind and take the game. In 2015, the Panthers had many experiences with near breaking late in games and this situation harkened back to those moments; unfortunately the Panthers were unable to escape with the win.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano (9) misses a fifty yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams

Grade: C+

The glaring storyline from this game will be Graham Gano’s missed field goal that cost the Panthers the game. Newton moved the team into field goal territory with a few seconds left on the clock. Gano was successfully iced, though, as the 50-yard field goal that would’ve won the game sailed left. The veteran kicker was good on two other attempts in the game, but that big miss at the end is the moment that everyone will remember.

Andy Lee performed well with 252 total yards on 4 attempts for an average of 63 yards. He also had 2 touchbacks on the day.

The Panthers’ return game was mediocre throughout the game. Ginn Jr. had one kick and two punt return attempts; none of which went for more than 15 yards. The field position game is one area in which the Panthers have struggled in the past and they need some improvement in this area.

Gano’s missed kick is the big story of the day but isn’t indicative of his abilities as a key component of this offense. The Panthers should expect him to rebound from this mistake and be a high scoring component of this team throughout the year.

Sep 8, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera reacts to a call by umpire Tony Michalek (115) in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Panthers 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Overall Performance

Grade: C

The Carolina Panthers nearly obtained some form of retribution against the Denver Broncos to open up the 2016 season. Dropping the game 21-20 isn’t a key indicator with how this team will perform throughout the year.

Offensively, Carolina’s ability to run the ball is still intact and is a threat to any team that stands against them. Racking up yards on the ground directly impacts the time of possession which usually benefits this Panthers’ team. The excitement surrounding the passing attack will have to wait as this game wasn’t a fair representation of how well the unit will perform when everyone is in sync with Newton.

Defensively, the Panthers played well throughout the game—minus the fourth quarter where the Broncos scored 14 points. The defense didn’t “fail” in the second half of the game, but their inability to stop those two late scores cost the defending NFC champions this game long before Gano’s kick sailed off course.

Fans and experts shouldn’t fall off of the Panthers’ bandwagon just yet. One game into the year this team showed the promise needed to be a contender throughout the year once some problems on both sides of the ball are corrected.

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