For the second time this season, the Carolina Panthers lost against the New Orleans Saints. But this 20-17 loss felt even harder to accept as the Panthers let a lack of discipline derail them. Carolina committed 11 penalties for 103 yards. So after the loss, Carolina’s head coach, Dave Canales, immediately turned the spotlight on his own locker room.

“First and foremost, gotta give credit to the Saints for taking advantage of their opportunities, putting together some amazing drives there,” Dave Canales said in the post-game presser.

“There’s stuff we certainly have to look at and make sure that we shore up. And as far as we’re concerned, just the penalties – they are really what killed us, and some third-and-longs that we gave up. You don’t give yourself a chance when you’re sitting on first-and-20s and those types of things, the untimeliness of the penalties.”

HC Canales didn’t sugarcoat his team’s performance after another painful loss to the Saints. The Panthers did not play in Week 15 like a team that was just two consecutive wins away from a division title. And the main reason behind that, as Canales pointed out, was their season-high 11 penalties. What’s worse is that the biggest mistake for the Panthers also came in the form of yet another penalty at the end of the game. 

With under 20 seconds left, Panthers’ safety Lathan Ransom hit Saints’ quarterback Tyler Shough after he had already started sliding. That resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty for the Panthers, and it flipped the ending of the game. Instead of a risky 62-yard field goal, the Saints lined up for a manageable 47-yarder to seal the game with a victory.

But that wasn’t the only mistake from the Panthers that left fans and critics with some questions. Dave Canales also pointed out other mistakes from his team and made it clear that those are the things that need to be discussed in the locker room.

“The field goal block offsides, giving them another opportunity in that fourth-and-1 – we end up getting the stop, but still, it gives them another shot there,” Dave Canales also added in the post-game presser. “We talk about our play style, we talk about play smart and finish, that did not show up for us today. And that’s something that we certainly have to talk about.”

So, lots of things impact losses like this. But when it happens routinely, some of the blame has got to fall on Dave Canales’ coaching, too. And let’s not forget that after the Panthers’ Week 10 loss to New Orleans, Canales admitted his team wasn’t ready. Canales even regretted his own decision to give players a “Victory Monday” off after beating Green Bay. 

Now, the Panthers looked unprepared yet again. Yes, the team looked better than it did in the first Saints matchup. But scoring just 17 points against a Saints’ defense that ranked 12th prior to the game (313.5 total yards and 24.2 points per game allowed) isn’t exactly inspiring. And the penalties made everything harder.

To make matters worse, this loss in Week 15 came after a bye week for the Panthers. So, there’s no excuse for a sloppy performance. As such, even quarterback Bryce Young did not shy away from pointing out the mistakes that cost Carolina the game. 

Bryce Young talks about the mistakes that led to Carolina’s loss

Bryce Young had arguably one of his best NFL outings in Week 15. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown against the Saints. He also posted a 96.4 passer rating. Yet, the win never came. But after the game, when reporters asked how he felt about the uncharacteristic penalties that cost his team on both sides of the ball, Young did not point fingers at anyone else but himself.

“We pride ourselves in playing smart,” said Bryce Young in the post-game presser. “And again, a lot of penalty yards, as a leader, I take accountability for that. We wanna make sure that we are playing clean, we are playing smart. Whether it’s something that we can get better at in practice, whatever it may be. I have full faith in everyone.”

So, Young made it clear that he still believes in everyone in that locker room. But he fought for every yard in the Week 15 game. He stayed composed late and kept Carolina alive when momentum threatened to disappear down the stretch. And now, his response after the loss sounded like a quarterback growing into the role.

So where does that leave the Panthers? Frustrated, but not finished. Carolina is still tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the division lead. So, the next game against the Bucs might be the biggest home game the Panthers have hosted in years. But if the Panthers want to win it, the mistakes must be cleaned up. And Dave Canales has to ultimately make sure that the team’s preparation improves.