On Sunday night in Chicago, an exasperated Ron Rivera said that as he watched film of the Carolina Panthers’ loss to the Bears, he wanted to especially focus on what went wrong whenever his offense made it inside the opposing 40-yard line.
Two turnovers that were returned for touchdowns were obviously the glaring issue here, and one that decided Sunday’s 17-3 loss.
But the Panthers’ problems in consistently moving the ball downfield are a little deeper than those two turnovers.
While it’s not the only fix needed for the offense, something that would have helped Carolina was the presence of someone they depend heavily on, not only when getting past midfield, but in the crucial plays that happen inside the 40-yard line: tight end Greg Olsen.