The Carolina Panthers were hoping that trading for Baker Mayfield would solve the QB issues they have had for years.
But, after Week 1, that does not seem to be the case.
The Panthers played poorly against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday and lost on a last-second field goal.
Despite only losing by two the Browns were starting a backup QB and the Panthers should have had much more success as a team.
Mayfield struggled against his former team completing 16 of 27 passes for 235 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
His QBR ended at 37.2, which was the eighth-worst in the NFL on Sunday.
The best play of the day for Mayfield was a 75-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Anderson in the fourth quarter.
BAKER MAYFIELD 75-YARD TD PASS TO ROBBIE ANDERSON 😱
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/HXBYYDWS6X
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 11, 2022
But, other than that it was a very inconsistent day for Mayfield and he did nothing to show the Panthers he could be their QB of the future.
Carolina’s defense was surprisingly bad on Sunday.
They gave up 355 yards of total offense, including 217 yards rushing.
The Panthers run defense had no answer for Nick Chubb, who carved up their defense for 141 yards on the ground.
Coming into the game the Panthers had to know that the Browns wanted to run the ball.
Playing with Jacoby Brissett, Cleveland had no interest in throwing the ball around the field.
The Carolina defense still could not do anything to stop them.
The worst part was that the Panthers took a 24-23 lead with 1:13 to play in the game, and the defense could not hold on.
Carolina let Brissett go right down the field in that final minute to set the Browns up for the game-winning 58-yard field goal.
Rookie kicker Cade York gives Cleveland the lead from 58 yards out!
📺: #CLEvsCAR on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/4gWBg2qtZo pic.twitter.com/xOX3uRgBW4— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2022
Another baffling part about the Panthers’ game plan was the lack of involvement for Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey is the best player in their offense who thrives at running and receiving.
Yet, he only got 14 total touches.
He should be seeing close to double that per game.
The offensive line was not very good either on Sunday.
Mayfield was sacked four times and the quarterback-center exchanges were a mess with four fumbled snaps.
The Carolina offense seemed out of sorts in Week 1.
Rest Of Season Outlook
The Panthers get a chance to bounce back in Week 2 against the New York Giants, who stunned the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.
The Giants are a team that Carolina needs to beat.
If they cannot do that the Panthers are headed down a brutal stretch of their schedule winless.
In Weeks 3-7 the Panthers play four playoff teams from last season and could be in danger of falling out of contention early in the season.
All the pressure will be on Mayfield, not just to beat the Giants but to find a way to upset some of these good teams they have coming up on their schedule.
The former first overall pick should rely on McCaffrey and D.J. Moore on offense.
Those two players are good and they need to get the ball much more than we saw in Week 1.
Mayfield and the Panthers will be an interesting team to watch the rest of the season.
NEXT: Panthers HC Comments On Christian McCaffrey's Health