Carolina Panthers fans were just treated to a study in what happens to your offense when your offensive line isn't up to par. That reality check came on Saturday, in the team's 29-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Already missing their projected starting tackles in Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton, the Panthers sat starting guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt—and with predictable results. The first-team unit disappointed severely, going three and out on each of their three possessions on the afternoon.
Collectively, the Panthers averaged 3.1 rushing yards per carry, with most of their best gains coming in garbage time. Their pass protection was no better, as they also gave up four sacks—three of them at the expense of backup Kenny Pickett.
Well, that performance was rather fitting when looking at the new offensive line rankings from Pro Football Focus. According to them, Carolina's trench ranks 26th in the NFL.
PFF analyst Gordon McGuinness writes:
The Panthers would have ranked inside the top 12 if they had their starting tackles, but they are without both Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton, at least to start the year. They are fortunate to have backups they will feel pretty good about in Rasheed Walker, who has earned a PFF grade above 60.0 in each of his first three seasons in the league. They also have to be feeling positive about Monroe Freeling, but some growing pains should be expected for him in Year 1.
Ordinarily, we would take offense at the Panthers' offensive line ranking this low—especially because they are spending more on this unit than any other team, by a wide margin. However, based on what we saw this weekend, it's difficult to argue with this spot.
Of course, having Lewis and Hunt in the lineup would have helped. But even then, this group is clearly vulnerable to injuries as they were last year—when they were forced to play 12 different starting configurations.
To be fair, only a handful of NFL teams have strong offensive line depth. So if they hadn't signed Walker and drafted Freeling, this ship might already be sunk for the season.
Hopefully for Carolina, their hog mollies will be able to at least tread water as the regular season begins.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Battered Panthers offensive line gets rough ranking from PFF