To understand what could’ve been for the Carolina Panthers, replay Week 9 of “Monday Night Football.” The Bears played the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields squared off against future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger.
A battle of the past versus the future unfolded. A franchise quarterback — just 22 years old — emerged in front of a national audience, marking a cautionary tale of forgoing potential star signal-callers and the consequences that follow.
Pittsburgh led 26-20 with 2:47 to play. Fields and the Bears offense needed 75 yards and a touchdown to regain the lead. In these hyper-intense moments, quarterbacks either rise to the occasion by masking their offense’s shortcomings or succumb to them.
Fields had plenty of reasons to fail. Steelers star T.J. Watt already sacked him three times, twice in the first half and once on Chicago’s previous drive. Combine a first-quarter interception with a roaring Steelers’ crowd and few would have blamed the young quarterback for flaming out at Heinz Field.
But then Field’s instincts took over. He dropped back to pass and his first throw to Allen Robinson went for 9 yards. Then he scrambled twice, gaining 11. A 39-yard deep shot to Robinson connected, sparking legitimate hope the Bears had a chance. The next play, Fields flushed left out of the pocket, squared his shoulders and delivered a dart to receiver Darnell Mooney in the back of the end zone.
Bears Twitter exhaled a collective sigh of relief. It didn’t really matter that Chicago left 1:52 on the clock. Forget that Roethlisberger pieced together his own seven-play drive, setting up a game-winning 40-yard Chris Boswell field goal 90 seconds later.
The Bears found their franchise quarterback. They picked him No. 11 overall in the 2021 draft, three selections after Carolina drafted cornerback Jaycee Horn. Seven months later it seems Chicago made the right choice.
About 30 hours prior, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones earned his fifth career win. New England defeated Carolina 24-6. Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold threw three interceptions, completed less than 50% of his passes and was injured in the game. He finished the contest but later landed on injured reserve Then the unimaginable happened. Carolina signed Cam Newton in hopes of saving its season.
This is the point in a future Matt Rhule biopic where the camera freezes on the face of Carolina’s coach and a voice-over asks, “you are probably wondering how I got myself in this situation.”
Yes, we are. In short, Carolina lost out on Matthew Stafford, couldn’t trade for Deshaun Watson following his legal issues and passed on drafting Fields and Jones. But that ignores an evaluation process Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer committed to this spring. Let’s revisit comments both made after acquiring Darnold to better understand how the Panthers have since reverted back to Newton.
The Panthers saw untapped potential in Darnold
Following the NFL draft, Rhule explained adding a blue-chip cornerback prospect in Horn to his secondary while also acquiring Darnold maximized their options. Darnold had just turned 24 years old and desperately needed a change of scenery. Carolina stumbled upon their research of Darnold while Rhule sat with his defensive staff.
“We were there one day on defense, and we’re watching a cut up. Sam Darnold was playing on the other side of the ball,” Rhule said on the Rich Eisen Show in May. “And a couple of times, he made some throws. And Phil Snow, our defensive coordinator, was like, ‘Man, that kid looks like Matt Stafford.’ ”
In those moments Rhule and his staff saw attributes that made Darnold a No. 3 overall pick. He can be athletic. His escapability excites and his arm flashes power and accuracy. His highlights with the New York Jets made up for his career 13-25 record, 60% completion rate and 39 interceptions.
Rhule started an extensive study on Darnold. His staff watched more of his games and kept focusing on the positives. Wishful thinking exists within every NFL coaching staff. Coaches must believe they can muster the best out of any player they bring in. Often, they are right. But that same rationale can also result in costly misevaluations.
“Every game we watched, he made a couple of big-time plays” Rhule said. “We’d watched so much tape on him that we saw enough shining moments.”
The Panthers liked what they saw. A belief in Darnold started to form. Acquiring him plus adding another first-round talent sounded like an opportunity too rich to pass up. Rhule asked around about Darnold and found mostly positive reviews. From Panthers receiver Robby Anderson, a teammate of Darnold’s in New York, to former coaches, most thought Darnold just needed a change of scenery.
“I’ve always been kind of a nurture-versus-nature guy. I think people have to be in the right situations. Hopefully, a change of scenery is what he needs,” Rhule said. “Hopefully, you know, he comes here and plays with Robby again and DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey and can just go out there and be one of the guys and play well.”
A vow to support Darnold
Rhule and the Panthers were hopeful. But they also vowed to support Darnold with key pieces he didn’t have in New York. The playmakers were in place around him. McCaffrey is one of the best running backs in football. Moore had a top-10 season the year prior and Anderson cashed in on a career year.
The Panthers defense was building toward being an elite unit. So far through nine games this season, they rank within the top five of several key categories. In the offseason they signed edge rusher Haason Reddick to pair with Brian Burns and later acquired cornerbacks C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore.
But the offensive line hasn’t come together as planned. Fitterer signed tackle Cam Erving and guard Pat Elflein and neither are consistent. According to Pro Football Focus, Erving ranks 98th (55.8 grade) among qualified tackles. Elflein hasn’t played since Week 2 after suffering a hamstring injury. Center Matt Paradis tore his ACL last Sunday against the Patriots, which means Carolina will start its seventh different offensive line combination in 10 games.
In May, Fitterer said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio that he hoped the talent around Darnold would help him reset his career.
“We want him to kind of just flush what’s happened. He’s only 23 years old. He played in a big media market, high-round pick. Just come here, let the players down here help you out. We surrounded him with a lot of good talent at receiver, we have the best running back in football, we’re going to have a really strong offensive line, and we’ve added to our defense. All of that plays together.”
Over the first three weeks the Panthers started 3-0. It appeared Darnold found proper support. But it wasn’t sustainable. McCaffrey landed on injured reserve following a Week 3 injury and Carolina’s offensive line fell apart. Through nine games, the Panthers rank 28th in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric.
Fitterer and Rhule had a vision of success for Darnold. As the offensive line deteriorated, so did their plan. On Friday, Darnold was placed on the injured reserve list with a right shoulder injury. It signaled the end of his time as a starter in Carolina and likely anywhere else.
On to Cam Newton
The Panthers face Arizona (8-1) with backup quarterback P.J. Walker set to start. Regardless of how he performs, that will not last long. Rhule said he brought Newton to Carolina to play.
“At the time, we weren’t sure if he’s healthy, but he’s healthy now,” Rhule said on Thursday. “We’re bringing him here to win. Cam Newton is a winner. I know he can help us win. A healthy Cam Newton is an excellent player, a special player.”
The Panthers are in win-now mode. Perhaps Newton can mask the offensive line’s protection issues and push Carolina to the playoffs. It seemed Darnold’s confidence crumbled in the pocket. That won’t happen to Newton.
Any misevaluations of Darnold are being ignored until after the season. The Panthers paid Newton $4.5 million guaranteed and included incentives up to $10 million. Next year Carolina owes Darnold $18 million because they picked up his fifth-year option before he played a snap at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers saw Darnold as an upgrade over Teddy Bridgwater. Bridgewater replaced Newton and now Newton supplants Darnold. Throughout the evaluation process, there were mistakes. Their missteps brought them back to Newton. No matter how shortsighted, Rhule and Fitterer deserve credit for reinvigorating Panthers fans by bringing him back.
In the long term, Bears fans will praise them for not selecting Fields.