The Carolina Panthers were run over at will by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers here in Week 7. And unfortunately, that futile display was nothing new for this defense.
Sunday saw the Bucs, en route to their 43-13 win, rumble over the host Panthers for 258 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. With quarterback Baker Mayfield nursing a dislocated thumb, Tampa took a one-dimensional approach—and got just about anything they wanted.
Now, heading into their Week 8 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, the Panthers have allowed a league-high 153.2 rushing yards per game. Oh, and the advanced stats aren't pretty, either.
According to Joe Person at The Athletic, the Panthers are the only NFL team with a negative EPA (expected points added) in run defense since Ejiro Evero took over as defensive coordinator. Person writes:
Since Ejiro Evero became the Panthers’ defensive coordinator in 2023, the Panthers are the only NFL team with a negative expected points added (minus-2.30) in total rush defense. But Canales defended Evero’s run scheme against the Bucs, saying: “We had good run calls to take away some of that run game. It just really comes down to execution."
Their defeat to Tampa marked the 12th game in which Evero's Panthers defense has allowed at least 200 rushing yards.
Luckily for Carolina, Green Bay has struggled mightily on the ground—having averaged an NFL-worst 59.9 rushing yards per contest. So maybe, even with Josh Jacobs back, we won't see No. 13 on Thursday night.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Insider shares damning stat on DC Ejiro Evero's time with Panthers