<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Greg Olsen: Panthers have to be 'more efficient passing'

          play
          Bruschi says Panthers will beat Rodgers-led Packers (0:47)

          Tedy Bruschi has confidence in the Panthers to beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. (0:47)

          • David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2017, 01:00 PM
            Close
              David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
            Follow on X

          CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Let’s go inside the numbers for the offense of the Carolina Panthers, who are 5-1 over the past six games despite throwing for a league-low 1,033 yards.

          Only Buffalo, with 1,034 passing yards, is close to Carolina, and the Bills are 2-4 during that span. Every other team in the NFL has at least 100 yards more than the Panthers, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

          Quarterback Cam Newton has topped 200 yards passing only once in that stretch, averaging only 172.2 yards a game.

          That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because Newton and the running game are working well. What isn’t working is the efficiency. Newton has completed only 54.1 percent of his passes over the past six games compared to 64.8 over the first seven.

          “There’s no doubt we have to get better in the passing game," tight end Greg Olsen said. “I don’t think that’s Cam throwing for over 200 [yards]. ... Yeah, for us to win and continue to keep teams off balance, we do have to be a little more efficient passing the ball.’’

          Where the Panthers (9-4) have been efficient is third down. They rank fifth in the NFL in third-down conversion rate (42.86 percent) a year after ranking 23rd (37.22).

          Green Bay (7-6), which plays at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, is only ninth (41.52 percent) despite missing quarterback Aaron Rodgers the past seven games. With Rodgers last season, the Packers finished third (46.12).

          The biggest area of improvement on third down for Carolina is in the passing game. On third-and 3 or fewer yards last season they were 12-for-32 (37.5), according to ESPN Stats & Info. This season, the Panthers are 13-for-25 (52).

          The rushing conversion on such plays is only slightly ahead of last season's pace, 76.9 percent in 2017 to 73.1.

          Over the past six games, the Panthers have been efficient in their third-down passing. Of those 1,033 yards, 385 (37.3 percent) have come on third down. Only Denver, at 38.8, has a higher percentage during that span.

          Newton has been at his best needing three to eight yards on third down. He has completed 60.7 percent of his passes in that scenario this season, compared to 47.4 a year ago.

          He’s also up slightly when needing nine or more yards on third down, completing 50.9 percent in 2017 to 48.5 in 2016.

          So while the Panthers haven’t been efficient overall in the passing game, they have been on third down. First-round pick Christian McCaffrey has made a difference there, catching 10 passes on third down and Carolina needing three to eight yards, for 111 yards and one touchdown.

          He has six catches for 78 yards when the Panthers have third down (or fourth) and nine-plus yards to go.

          “We’ve shown when we’re on point we’re pretty dynamic in that aspect,’’ Olsen said. “I definitely think there is room for us to get better as there are in a lot of facets of the game.’’