It's time to push the panic button on the Panthers — maybe the eject button, too.
What we saw during Carolina's 48-33 road loss to Atlanta on Sunday wasn’t a mighty team that simply lost its way against a division rival. It was a dethroning.
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It would have been one thing for coach Dan Quinn's improved team to steal the game late, but the way Atlanta dominated Carolina from start to finish was shocking. The Falcons came out flying on both sides of the ball and didn't stop. Cam Newton and the Panthers, on the other hand, compounded their woes with a general lack of fire when they desperately needed to find it.
By the time Newton gave the Panthers a lift with a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, it was too late. His lackadaisical two-point conversion run, during which he suffered the concussion that ended his day, was indicative of his un-MVP-like play.
While some are worried about how Newton can recover from his concussion, the real concern is Carolina's complacency.
When Carolina went 15-1 as NFC champions in 2015, its only loss was a fluke at Atlanta. The Panthers’ hunger for greatness never waned last season.
So what happened? The defensive dominance up front is gone, badly exposing a much weaker back end. The Panthers are getting manhandled on both lines of scrimmage.
The hunger and swagger has been replaced with the heaviest of hangovers. The thing about losing intangibles is they’re hard to get back.
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The Panthers on Sunday came out with a lifeless offense against a Falcons defense that typically provides quarterbacks comfort. Carolina's defense, save for steady play from linebacker Luke Kuechly and one big play from safety Kurt Coleman, let Matt Ryan do anything he wanted. Julio Jones was awesome, but giving up 10 catches for 300 yards to a single wide receiver is embarrassing and inexcusable.
The Panthers couldn't get off the field on third downs. The Falcons piled up massive passing totals with ease, like Ryan was throwing against air. It seemed at times the Panthers weren't even there.
The Panthers needed Newton to dig deep and deliver his best, and he disappointed. Coach Ron Rivera and his staff can only do so much to prepare for a must-win spot, especially with their lesser, reshuffled post-Super Bowl personnel.
It's on Newton to be a leader on the field when his team needs his immense talent most, and not just dance and smile when it's playing its best. Given the way he and his team came out so quiet, it's as if his post-Super Bowl 50 presser has a spawned a lingering entity.
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The Panthers now are two games down to the Falcons in the NFC South and have to think more about scratching to .500 than trying to repeat in the division. Carolina can't use Newton's concussion as a potential crutch going forward. It already has been a team drunk with issues. Now the schedule doesn't look easy anymore, and neither do the answers.
Rivera has pulled off amazing turnarounds with the Panthers in the past. This edition, with Newton's emotional roller coaster spiraling downward, doesn’t look as promising.
