The Carolina Panthers played their first game since the firing of head coach Ron Rivera on Sunday, and it appears to have gone very badly.
The Panthers lost 40-20 to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, with the defense in particular being ripped apart by Matt Ryan and his offense. Ryan threw two touchdown passes, including a 93-yard score to Olamide Zaccheaus in the third quarter that effectively put the game out of reach.
Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson essentially blamed the defensive coaches, including interim coach Perry Fewell, for those scores, criticizing what he called “two horrible calls” that were not worked on at practice. Jackson added that the decision to send an all-out blitz on a third-and-7 from the Atlanta 7 was exceptionally ill-advised.
Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson ripped the defensive coaching staff for two “horrible” calls on Matt Ryan’s two TD passes. He particularly questioned sending an all-out blitz on the play in which he allowed a 93-yard TD. pic.twitter.com/yfbWw8mOfO
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) December 8, 2019
It’s never a great look when a player is criticizing the coaches this brazenly. Jackson is essentially calling out Fewell here, though there were certainly coverage breakdowns and individual errors that led to Ryan’s two passing scores. It’s probably unfair to put it all on the coaching staff.
Panthers players seemed quite upset to see Rivera fired during the week. Those feelings may be intensifying after Sunday’s performance.
