CHARLOTTE — George Seifert knows football, so he must know the Carolina Panthers are in trouble.
The third-year coach admitted as much Sunday at Ericsson Stadium, where the last-place Panthers lost for the sixth straight week and fell to 1-6.
“Obviously this is quite difficult,” Seifert said after Carolina was grounded 13-12 by the New York Jets. “And it doesn’t get any easier. We’ve dug ourselves a pretty deep hole at this point in the season. We’re certainly not going to be contenders. But right now, we need a win. In the worst way, we need a win.”
The Panthers had this one in their grasp but were once again foiled in the fourth quarter, this time when New York’s John Hall kicked a decisive 34-yard field goal with 4:53 to play. As losses go, it left a bitter aftertaste and a stain that won’t be easily erased.
“I know what everybody’s thinking,” said defensive tackle Brentson Buckner. “But we haven’t given up. There’s still nine games left. Once you start thinking you’re in trouble, then you are.”
With all due respect, the Panthers are. Their offense produced another swing-and-a-miss performance (162 total yards, no touchdowns) and their defense — while it did force four turnovers — failed to contain Jets’ running back Curtis Martin (season-high 159 yards), who ran like he’d been dipped in grease.
“That guy is a great back. Not a good back, a great back,” said linebacker Chris Slade, a former teammate. “You can’t get a good shot at him. He shifts, he maneuvers and he runs hard into open spaces. Somehow, he always gets it done.”
The only space Martin never reached on this sun-drenched fall afternoon was the end zone. “And that’s all that really matters,” said safety Mike Minter. “He was getting his yards. But we stopped them whenever they got over the 50-yard line.”
Martin, the NFL’s leading rusher with 738 yards, lauded the Panthers’ defensive effort. “Those guys were coming,” he said. “We rushed for a lot of yards (186) and that makes it seem like they didn’t have a good defense. But they did. We just caught them on a few plays.”
The game’s biggest play came midway through the final period with Carolina clinging to a 12-10 lead. On first down from his own 1-yard line, quarterback Chris Weinke unexpectedly dropped into the end zone and launched a home run ball for wideout Muhsin Muhammad down the left sideline. “We’d been getting man coverage on him all day,” Weinke explained. “It seemed like a good opportunity to take a chance and go deep. Obviously, it didn’t turn out in our favor.”
Instead, Jets’ cornerback Aaron Glenn stepped in front of Muhammad, intercepted the pass and returned it 22 yards to the Carolina 21.
“It’s football, man,” shrugged Buckner. “Aaron Glenn made a great play. That’s why he goes to the Pro Bowl. But you know what? You give me Moosh on any defensive back in the league and I like our chances.”
Four plays later Hall booted the game-winner, giving the Jets (4-3) a victory they absolutely had to have.
“The last couple weeks have not been fun for us,” said New York defensive back Victor Green. “But we can’t just be a one-game wonder. We’ve got to keep putting up good numbers.”
Across the field, Carolina’s magic number comes up 9-1-1. The second-longest losing streak in team history could continue next week at Miami and Nov. 11 at St. Louis.
“Wins,” Slade told reporters in the subdued Carolina dressing room. “That’s the only cure for this. There are no medals for trying. Moping about won’t do any good. We’ve got to snap out of this and find a way to win.”
As opposed to finding another way to lose.
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