Injuries beginning to take their toll on the Panthers' secondary, offensive line

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers are probably wishing they could petition the NFL for another bye week.

Mounting injuries to the secondary and offensive line have begun to take their toll on the Panthers (3-4), who have dropped two straight games and fallen into a tie with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South.

On Friday, the Panthers fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero after the team allowed Jordan Love to throw for 288 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Carolina entered the game last in the league in run defense.

The Panthers promoted defensive line coach Todd Wash as interim defensive coordinator.

“Just wanna see the guys connected,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. "I just wanna see them excited about going out there and executing the plan. And playing fast, playing the physical brand. And the effort’s been there. Those things are right. But I know that we can make strides with being able to get everybody on the same page, tying in the whole unit.”

Evero's fate may have been sealed when starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson went down in a Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns and were placed on injured reserve.

Since then, the two cornerbacks who were replaced Horn and Jackson have suffered injuries. Akayleb Evans was placed on IR last week and Will Lee injured his hamstring against the Packers in the first half and had to leave the game.

Canales said the injuries were taken into account when he fired Evero, but added that the decision was based on the big picture and “a lot of information."

Things are just as shaky on the offensive line where the Panthers are playing without three starters, including tackles Taylor Moton and Ickey Ekwonu and guard Damien Lewis.

Bryce Young was under constant pressure against the Packers. He was hurried 22 times, hit nine times and sacked six times.

“We’ve got to make sure we do a good job of giving him solutions when they do have overloaded pressures and zero looks and things," Canales said. "But it wasn’t just that. They got after us with some four-man rushes and some stunts that we didn’t pass off well. That created a little bit of pressure there as well.”

Moton, the team's longtime right tackle, was able to return to action three weeks ago, but since injured his fibula and has been placed on injured reserve. Ekwonu is expected back in the next month or so.

Rookie first-round pick Monroe Freeling has struggled at right tackle this season.

Running back Chuba Hubbard continues to be a bright spot for the Panthers despite playing behind an offensive line that has struggled to open holes.

Hubbard was used extensively against the Packers and gained 81 yards on 22 carries while hauling in a team-high seven passes for 38 yards. He's clearly the only back offensive coordinator Brad Idzik trusts at this point in the season.

Hubbard doesn't have top-level breakaway speed, but he's tough and normally does the little things right and finds ways to pick up difficult yards.

Don't be surprised to see the Panthers shake up the starting offensive line before the next game. One potential option is the versatile but often injury prone Brady Christensen. He can play any of the five offensive line positions.

Ryan Fitzgerald is quietly putting together a decent season, converting on all 13 field goal attempts for Carolina, including a 50-yarder against the Packers. Extra points, however, remain a bit of a bugaboo for the second-year kicker. He is just 13 of 18 with four misses in the last four games.

After starting the season like gangbusters with more than 200 yards receiving in his first two games, wide receiver Jalen Coker's stock has cooled off significantly. Coker has fewer than 37 yards receiving in three of his last four games. He was mostly a nonfactor against the Packers until catching a touchdown pass late in the game to cut Green Bay's lead to eight.

The Panthers lost cornerback Will Lee to a hamstring injury against the Packers, further depleting their secondary.

Carolina averaged just 3.7 yards per play against the Packers.

The Panthers have 10 days to regroup before playing host to Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos on Nov. 8.

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