Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Though the Panthers forced two takeaways, finishing negative-2 in the turnover margin kept the Bucs out of reach.
But Tampa Bay's unrelenting pass rush was a significant factor, too. Bridgewater was sacked five times, and the Bucs totaled eight quarterback hits.
"I thought we had a good rush, especially our interior guys," Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said. "They were focused on our outside guys a little bit, and our interior guys got great push up the middle."
Added Bridgewater:
"We gave up too many sacks today, and a lot of that, you should point the finger at me. I'll do a better job of whether it's communicating with those guys, getting the ball out faster, or being faster with my reads."
Carolina's defense had a better overall performance than Week 1. Still, of the four penalties that resulted in first downs, three came on third down, and two were on the same drive.
"Those are, I think, four or five drive-continuing penalties, and there is no chance of winning when you have that," head coach Matt Rhule said.
Combined, the giveaways, flags and a slow offensive start put the Panthers in a 21-point hole at halftime. By the end of the game, it was all too much to overcome.
"We have to find a way to overcome that and build off the competitive nature that we have," Rhule said. "But at the same time, we have got to become a better football team in terms of playing cleaner football."