It was an optimistic way to look at a game that didn’t inspire much optimism, but Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Eric Washington took pride in the number of third-and-long situations his defense forced during their 20-19 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 11.
Carolina forced Detroit into 11 third downs with at least 7 yards to go, surpassing the 10 such situations it forced Dallas into in Week 1. Detroit only converted three of those attempts — the problem was, all three conversions led to touchdowns.
Performances like that are a microcosm of Carolina’s four-game losing streak.