Panthers cite ‘critical mistakes’ to explain secondary woes. Problems might be deeper.

Critical mistakes, critical mistakes, critical mistakes.

That’s what a 30-27 Week 12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks came down to, head coach Ron Rivera said Monday.

“If you really go back and look at it, that’s what the game came down to and everybody says it,” he said. “Football, winning football games, comes down to four, five, six plays. And that’s exactly what got us. I’m not going to sit here and try to make any excuse other than the fact that those are things that we have to get corrected.”

Critical mistakes have been the thorn in Carolina’s side for the duration of a three-game losing streak, and perhaps none has been repeated more than the explosive passing plays allowed by the secondary.

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