Steelers vs. Panthers: What they're saying in Carolina after loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers run the South — the NFC South.

With a fairly convincing 24-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon, the Steelers completed a sweep of the worst football division in the NFL. Seriously. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the division with a 6-8 record. The Panthers are 5-9 and might be mathematically alive for the postseason.

At 6-8, the Steelers are alive too, but not really.

A week ago, the Panthers ran the ball over the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers’ defense was able to shut the run down, run the ball and avoid quarterback Mitch Trubisky interceptions.

It was a winning formula.

Here’s what they’re saying in Carolina:

Mitch Magic?

“Make no mistake, Kenny Pickett is the guy in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future, but while he’s dealing with a concussion, the Steelers can rest easy knowing they have a capable backup (Trubisky) that can keep things steady,” wrote Stephen Thompson of Sports Illustrated. “His performance against Carolina — a talented defense, mind you — wasn’t particularly spectacular, but it was clean and efficient. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 179 yards. He leaned on a strong running game and made plays with his arm when needed. The strikes he threw to (wide receiver) Diontae Johnson on the team’s final drive to maintain possession and kill clock when the Panthers applied some pressure showed he’s capable of being more than just a game manager.”

Penalties helped Carolina stay in it

You’ve probably seen the idiotic penalty by Steelers special teamer Marcus Allen committing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. No other way to describe it.

One of the dumbest penalties you're ever gonna see. Marcus Allen joins the Panthers huddle to talk smack during a timeout. Wow. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/A40j4MwXVB

— Roberto Shenanigans (@Rob_Shenanigans) December 18, 2022

The blunder gave Carolina a chance at a comeback.

“It was one of those games where the Panthers’ offense needed penalties to extend drives,” wrote Ellis Williams of the Charlotte Observer. ” Late in the third quarter, Carolina caught a break via Steelers special teamer Marcus Allen committing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Carolina was set up to punt, but Allen was flagged for infiltrating the Panthers’ special teams huddle, which awarded Carolina a fresh set of downs. The Panthers parlayed Allen’s penalty into its first second-half score when Eddy Piñeiro hit a 29-yard field goal to cut the Steelers’ lead to 11 points.”

Still, it wasn’t enough for the Panthers.

“Pittsburgh gashed the Panthers’ defense for 157 yards on 44 carries. By being better than Carolina at its own game, the Steelers out-possessed the Panthers and converted 75% of their third downs,” Williams wrote.

Related:

• Steelers use running game, defense to defeat Carolina
• Mike Tomlin: Steelers show lack of smarts by committing 3 personal fouls in win at Carolina
• With Mitch Trubisky at QB, Diontae Johnson turns in a perfect 10 in Steelers' win over Panthers

Oh no, O-line

The Panthers ran for 21 yards — total.

“That’s their lowest output since the 2012 season opener,” wrote Enzo Flojo of Clutch Points.

“Much of that was because of poor offensive line play. The Panthers o-line wasn’t able to consistently open up rushing lanes, and they also allowed four sacks of quarterback Sam Darnold. Keep in mind that Darnold had only been sacked twice in his previous two starts. This was a significant departure from the team’s recent focus on anchoring their offensive identity on their stout o-line.”