If the past three losses weren’t pretty, this one might break a mirror or two.
There was the blowout against Pittsburgh, the almost-comeback against Detroit, and the late-game collapse against Seattle, but Carolina’s 24-17 loss Sunday to Tampa Bay was just all-around ugly.
The Panthers, despite 444 yards of offense, turned the ball over four times, couldn’t stay on the field — or get off it, depending on which unit was in the game — on third down, and couldn’t protect Cam Newton, who couldn’t stop turning the ball over.
But it’s not what they couldn’t do that made the loss so frustrating from the Panthers’ perspective — it was the unforgivable number of opportunities they afforded a struggling Buccaneer team.