CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers went to their hurry-up offense late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game with the Arizona Cardinals.
Which was a good thing for the fans, who simply wanted to hurry up and get this game over with and get out of Ericsson Stadium.
In a game that seemed to drag on forever — just like the Panthers’ season — Carolina lost. Again.
For the 14th straight time.
In a game that most everyone thought they had a chance to win, the Panthers looked out of sync, unmotivated and downright awful in a 30-7 embarrasment to an Arizona team that was 6-8 coming in.
“It was particularly brutal, to say the least,” sighed embattled Panthers coach George Seifert. “It’s a humiliating type of loss.
“At the same time, it would be wrong not to credit Arizona for playing a good game.”
No, it would be wrong. The Panthers appeared to give up after one minute of play and allowed Arizona to look like the powerful Rams.
They also didn’t tease their fans like in previous losses. There was no chance of this one being close.
On the second play from scrimmage, Richard Huntley fumbled the ball. It was promptly scooped up by linebacker Ronald McKinnon, who loped in from 25 yards out.
7-0, Arizona. Game over.
“You could feel the momentum shift,” said receiver Patrick Jeffers.
After two plays?
“It set the tone,” Seifert admitted. “It didn’t necessarily have to set the tone.”
But the coach mentioned that he didn’t have a good feel for his team’s intensity during pregame.
“I felt it a little bit during warmups,” he said. “But I’ve been on the sidelines when a team was lackluster and then played great.”
Afterward, tackle Todd Steussie took offense to the idea that the Panthers quit and now need a big-time pep talk.
“Pep talks are for high school,” he scoffed. “We’re professionals. Anybody who needs a pep talk won’t be around long. If guys did give up late, then it’s going on their resume.”
The first quarter ended with the Cards leading 7-0 but in a 20-point second, Arizona began making big plays.
Cedric Oglesby, formerly of South Carolina State, who was only recently signed, booted a 41-yard field goal on the quarter’s first play.
Arizona quickly got the ball back and scored in three plays, covering 80 yards. The biggest was a 61-yard completion from Plummer to the NFL’s leading receiver David Boston. That made it 17-0 and the announced crowd of just over 43,000, began fidgeting, wondering if sitting in 40-degree weather was worth it.
Chris Weinke tossed an interception to David Barrett on the Panthers’ next drive and the Cardinals took advantage again, as Plummer and Boston hooked up for a five-yard score and a 24-0 lead.
“To have a game like this in our stadium is unfortunate,” Seifert said. “Obviously, I didn’t have this team ready to play with any zest or execution.”
The entire season of woes was evident as the first half wound down.
First, Weinke did lead a scoring drive. He hit Donald Hayes with seven-yard score for a 24-7 deficit with 2:38 remaining before halftime.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Jarrod Cooper, pulled off his helmet after making a tackle and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Mike Rucker was then hit with a roughing-the-passer penalty. Just like that, Arizona was in field goal range and went up 27-7 at halftime as Oglesby hit another try as time expired.
The only points in the second half came in the third quarter on yet another Oglesby field goal.
The rest of the game consisted of Weinke throwing short passes. He finished 36-of-63 but those completions totaled only 223 yards.
When Plummer took a knee in the final seconds, coach Dave McGinnis joked that he had to ask his team if it knew how to perform that play. But he also knew when this game effectively ended — on Huntley’s fumble.
“Whoever jumped who first was probably going to win it,” he said.
Now, the Panthers must focus on the last game of the season, at home against the playoff-bound New England Patriots.
“I don’t have any thoughts on it,” Seifert said when asked about the NFL-record-tying 14-game losing streak. Obviously, it’s embarassing but I won’t go beyond that.”
And his coaching career with the Panthers may not go beyond next week.
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NOTES: The 63 passing attempts were a team record. ... The NFLrecord is 70 passes by New England’s Drew Bledsoe. ... Wesley Walls did not play but was on hand to give the NFL Teacher of the Year award to his former high school teacher. ... Boston finished with seven catches for 129 yards. ... The Panthers’ longest pass play was 14 yards. ... Arizona did not commit a turnover for the second straight game.
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-787-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com
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