The Carolina Panthers are busy trying to make anything of value that they can out of a lost season. The defense has been good in some games and patchy in others, belying a mild talent and scheme mismatch on the one hand and an offense that does them no favors on the other. The offense has shown a steadily, until yesterday, improving running game that is held back by inconsistent and, at best, below average quarterback play. All of that is fine in a year where they fired their head coach. To be expected, even.
As fans, we can get excited about splash plays from rookie linebackers Amare Barno and Brandon Smith in the first half while not being too upset at the Ravens for pulling away with victory in the final minutes.