Charles Johnson angry over not playing in fourth quarter of blowout

Ron Rivera wisely decided to rest many of his starters in the fourth quarter on Sunday with the Carolina Panthers en route to a 38-0 win. Believe it or not, one of those starters had the nerve to publicly question the approach.

Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson took to Twitter after the game to vent about not getting more playing time. He later deleted the tweets.

“Good game overall as a TEAM!!?” Johnson wrote, according to The Charlotte Observer. “(W)hat’s the point of having good pass rushers if u sit them at the beginning of the 4 quarter #KeepPounding

“I thought passer rusher are for situation like today!! Guess not.”

Johnson missed eight weeks before returning to face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12, so you can understand why he might want to stay sharp. But calling out your coach on Twitter after a 38-0 win that ran your team’s record to 13-0? That’s just ludicrous.

On Monday, Rivera said he would have preferred if Johnson spoke directly to him but that he was not bothered by the tweets.

“I get it,” Rivera said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “It’s an emotional game. He prides himself, especially playing against Atlanta. He wants to be an impact player, especially against Atlanta. I truly do appreciate that, and it doesn’t bother me, because I get it.”

Johnson has recorded just one sack in six games this season. He made much more sense the last time he questioned something the Panthers did.