Last play-by-play of 2021. I’ll post observations later in the thread.
Defense 1st Drive:
Play 1 - Pass for 14 yards. Blocked as an RPO but looked like decision was already made as a pass pre-snap. Pickens blew up the C so the run wouldn’t have been there anyway. Dial with good coverage, but Howell threw a perfect pass. Dial with the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 11 yards. Ellis blew up the C but over pursued. Pickens doubled by LG and LT. LT then worked to Staley. Roderick filled the gap but missed the tackle. Johnson missed the tackle before Platel made the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 1 yard. RB draw. Staley and Foster blitzed. Johnson, Ellis, and Burch on the tackle.
Play 4 - Run for 5 yards. Ellis ended up taking on a double from the RT and pulling LG. Pulling TE went to Burch. RG tried to block Johnson, but Johnson made the tackle.
Play 5 - Sack for 10 yard loss. Pickens and Ellis ran a twist which caused the OL some confusion and allowed Sterling a free rush to QB. Sterling went high on Howell and got shoved off. Ellis cleaned up with the sack. It looked like UNC was trying to clear out the middle of the field for a slant, which was there as #11 came wide open, but nice job by the DL to prevent the pass from happening.
Offense 1st Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 20 yards by Bell. Counter. Bell motioned into the backfield. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee blocked the DE. Muse chipped the LB. Harris blocked the S. Vann blocked CB. Nice run by Bell but also poor job by UNC on outside contain.
Play 2 - Run for 9 yards by Harris. Looked like DUO. Kenion (TE) kicked out DE. Leggette (WR) blocked CB. Muse (TE) blocked blitzing LB. Lee (LG) went to backside LB. Harris ran through the big hole.
Play 3 - False Start.
Play 4 - Pass for 69 yard TD from Joyner to Bell. Bell motioned from out wide to inside. Play-action to Harris as the OL blocked down and Muse (TE) pulled. Leggette went on a deep crossing route which caused one S to pick him up and the other S to shift over the top. Bell started the route as a wheel route which matched him up against the CB and then bent the route back inside. Since the other S shifted towards Leggette, there was no help over the top. Nice job by Joyner getting air underneath the ball and great catch by Bell going full speed and making the over the shoulder catch.
Defense 2nd Drive:
Play 1 - Incomplete pass. Staley came on the blitz after the play-action, but no pressure on Howell. Platel was shoved off on the play but still managed to be right there on the coverage. Platel may have deflected the ball, I couldn’t tell.
Play 2 - Incomplete pass. RB dropped the pass.
Play 3 - Pass for 9 yards. Johnson came on the blitz and hit Howell right after he threw it. Dial on the coverage and tackle.
Offense 2nd Drive:
Play 1 - Pass from Joyner to Juju for 11 yards. Swing pass. Brown got a great block on the perimeter - flipping the defender. EJ also set a good block.
Play 2 - Run for no gain by Joyner. Joyner couldn’t find anyone to throw to, so he scrambled out of bounds.
Play 3 - Pass for 66 yard TD from Zeb to Bell. Looked like an RPO. LBs were sucked in on the fake handoff. Bell ran a slant and got matched up on the S who was shrugged off and then had no chance to chase Bell down.
Defense 3rd Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 2 yard loss. UNC pulled the RG and RT, so when Huntley beat the C block, he had a free run at the RB. Huntley couldn’t bring down the RB, but Staley slipped underneath the pulling RT block to make the tackle along with Webb.
Play 2 - Run for 8 yards. Webb doubled. C worked to Kaba. LT went to Roderick. Strachan squeezed, but not enough as he took on the block of the FB. Foster made the tackle with Kaba and Staley.
Play 3 - Run for no gain. Howell couldn’t find anyone as the pocket collapsed, so he scrambled. We ran a blitz which I don’t recall seeing us run this year. Johnson blitzed up the middle and Staley came on the delayed blitz when he saw RB stayed home to block. Burch and Strachan ran a stunt which threw UNC OL for a loop. Howell was fortunate not to be dropped for a loss.
Offense 3rd Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 8 yards by Joyner. Play-action. Joyner had all day and did a really nice job moving around in the pocket. He continued to keep his eyes downfield until he finally decided to scramble.
Play 2 - Run for 11 yards by Harris. OL and Muse blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled and missed going at the CB, but still had the same result as the CB wanted no part of Lee and just got out the way. Jones (FB) was aggressive but hit the wrong guys as he ran into Muse and knocked him off his block and then ran into Lee and knocked him out the way. Harris broke the tackle of the LB in the hole and pulled away from a few arm tackles before being brought down by the two S.
Play 3 - Run for 7 yards by Harris. Lee (LG) and Douglas (C) looked like grown men on this play. They doubled the DT initially as Lee continued to drive the DT and Douglas released to the LB. S came down to make the tackle.
Play 4 - Run for 6 yards by Harris. OL blocked down. Wannamaker (RT) released to play side LB, but missed, so he went to backside LB. Harris made a nice cut to make the DE miss in the hole.
Play 5 - Run for 17 yards by Joyner. QB read option. UNC bit hard on the fake handoff to Harris and Joyner pulled. Bell released to 2nd level, but didn’t block anyone. EJ got a decent block on CB. S took a bad angle which allowed Joyner to get to the outside.
Play 6 - Run for negative 5 yards by Bell. OL blocked down and Douglas (C) tried to pull, but the edge blocks were lost. Harris couldn’t block the DE and Nichols couldn’t turn the DT.
Play 7 - Run for 4 yards by Harris. Man on man blocking. Muse (TE) motioned out to pull one LB out the box. Douglas (C) released to LB.
Play 8 - Run for 6 yards by Bell. Same counter play that we started the game with, just to the opposite direction. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse couldn’t get enough of the LB, who made the tackle. Vann (WR) blocked the CB. Harris attempted to block the S, but didn’t do a great job as the S assisted on the tackle.
Defense 4th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 4 yards. QB read option. Howell pulled as Burch and Webb overplayed to RB. Burch still managed to redirect himself and assist Roderick on the tackle. Roderick was spying the QB the whole time. Despite Burch initially taking himself out the play, it was impressive how he adjusted and got right back into it.
END OF 1st QUARTER
Play 2 - Run for 2 yards. Tyreek Johnson was pancaked by the pulling LG. Brad Johnson slammed the pulling LT to the ground. Burch impressively leapt over the attempted cut block by the TE and chased the RB down from behind for the tackle. Foster assisted on the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 3 yards. Low fumbled snap. Howell picked it up and ran for a few yards. Ellis and Pickens ran a stunt, which ended up causing Burch to be double teamed. Tyreek Johnson missed the sack opportunity. Roderick missed the tackle. Ellis and Foster combined on the tackle.
Play 4 - Run for 3 yards. QB sneak on a quick count. Howell was able to bounce it outside. Johnson and Roderick on the tackle.
Play 5 - Incomplete pass. Staley and Foster came on the blitz. Staley with the pressure. Rush with the coverage and broke the pass up beautifully.
Play 6 - Run for 63 yard TD. The DTs and DEs ran a stunt to their respective sides. Strachan could not get off the LT block. C released to Johnson. Staley was in coverage. The only person who had a chance to make the tackle was Roderick and he took a bad angle.
Offense 4th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse kicked out the LB. Harris broke the tackle of the LB, but Lee (LG) couldn’t maintain his block on the DT who made the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass from Joyner to Brown for 1 yard. Muse got a good block on the perimeter, but it took too long for the ball to get into Brown’s hands.
Play 3 - Pass for 6 yards from Zeb to Leggette. Harris did a nice job on blitz pickup. Zeb delivered a strike to Leggette who did a nice job of bending the out route to the marker.
Play 4 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. Carolina quickly up to the line to run a play to avoid a replay on the previous play. Harris picked a spot and got what he could.
Play 5 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse whiffed on the LB. Nichols (LT) couldn’t get much push on DT as the DT and LB made the stop.
Play 6 - Zeb sacked for 8 yard loss. Blitzing LB came right up the middle untouched. Zeb had no chance.
Defense 5th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 3 yards. Pickens blew the LG into the backfield, which caused the RB to belly out the run more than he wanted. Platel nice job of helping set the edge. Strachan on the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass for 34 yards. No pressure on Howell and he drops the ball in perfectly to his WR. Platel on the coverage.
Play 3 - Howell sacked for no gain. Looked like it was supposed to be an RPO, but the WR ran a different route. Howell tried to scramble after pulling the ball, but Pickens and Sterling were there waiting.
Play 4 - Pass for 23 yards. No pressure on Howell and he delivered a pinpoint pass. Dial had good coverage, but the pass was better.
Play 5 - Run for no gain. Pickens was double teamed and pancaked by the LG and LT. Burch took on the pulling RG and set the edge. Platel came on blitz when he saw RB getting the ball, but he missed the tackle. Ellis swimmed the C block and made the tackle.
Play 6 - Sack for 10 yard loss. Sack by Pickens and Strachan. Pickens absolutely bullied the LG after getting pancaked the play before. Strachan happened to be there as Howell attempted to scramble. Nice job in coverage by the back 7.
Play 7 - Incomplete pass. Pickens with the pressure. Foster broke up the pass.
Offense 5th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 3 yards by Joyner. Designed QB run. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled. Everyone was blocked but 1 LB, who made the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass from Joyner to Juju for 8 yards. Swing pass. Caught UNC on a blitz. Leggette with a great block on the LB. Vann with a good block on the CB. Muse came in motion and went to the S.
Play 3 - Run for 17 yards by Harris. One of Harris’s best runs of the day. He was patient in letting a hole develop and then hit it. Broke two tackles along the way. Wannamaker handled the DE to help create the initial hole.
Play 4 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled. Jones (FB) went after the CB who wanted not part of Jones. The DT that Gwyn (RG) was on slipped the block and made the tackle.
Play 5 - Pass from Joyner to Brown for 11 yards. Wannamaker (RT) was beat in pass pro, but it didn’t matter as Joyner rolled out and found Brown. Muse sealed off the the DE to allow an open rollout for Joyner. Brown did a nice job of cutting off his route and working back to the ball.
Play 6 - Run for 35 yard TD by Juju. Juju broke a tackle in the hole and then another one near the goal line. Hat on hat by the OL. EJ set a nice block on the perimeter.
Defense 6th Drive:
Play 1 - Pass for 13 yards. Foster on the tackle. No pressure as Howell got the ball out quickly.
Play 2 - Sack for 4 yard loss. Might have been a designed QB draw. Platel filled the gap and forced Howell to rollout. Burch was waiting there for him.
Play 3 - Pass for 13 yards. Howell again threw a strike and got the ball out quickly. Roderick on the coverage.
Play 4 - Pass for 28 yards. Howell again showed why he’s 1st round NFL talent. Dial had excellent coverage on the WR, but the ball was thrown perfectly. No pressure on Howell with a 4 man rush.
Play 5 - Pass for 1 yard. Swing pass that was not thrown well. Johnson in coverage.
Play 6 - Run for 8 yards. Staley and Johnson blitzed. Howell was flushed from the pocket and chased out of bounds by Pickens. Strachan would have had the edge, but he slipped and then attempted to drop back.
Play 7 - Run for no gain. Pickens held his ground against the double of C and LG. RG went to Staley. Ellis slipped the block of the RT and made the tackle.
Play 8 - False start.
Offense 6th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 2 yards by Harris. Harris bounced it outside and tried to stay in bounds to run out the clock.
HALFTIME
Offense 7th Drive
Play 1 - Pass from Joyner to Juju for 8 yards. Swing pass. Excellent blocks by Muse and Leggette on the perimeter.
Play 2 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. OL got push up front, but couldn’t get up 2nd level as the LB came up to make the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 2 yards by Harris. Harris got the carry from the FB spot and plowed forward for a few yards.
Play 4 - Pass from Joyner to EJ for 6 yards. Play-action. Muse set two excellent blocks to allow Joyner to roll out and complete the pass. Good job by EJ working back to the ball.
Play 5 - Run for 3 yards by Joyner. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse went to the LB. Juju went in motion pre snap which was enough to get one LB out of position. Joyner was met by the S, but pushed forward enough for the 1st down.
Play 6 - Pass from Joyner to Brown 26 yards. We’ve seen this play multiple times over the season, but usually to Bell or Vann. Play-action rollout with Brown coming across underneath. Brown caught it and showed his speed.
Play 7 - Pass for 23 yards from Joyner to Brown. Juju went into motion and took the LB and CB with him, allowing Brown to come wide open. Probably would have been a TD with a better throw. Brown had to slow down and adjust to the the ball.
Play 8 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. OL got some push and Harris plowed forward.
Play 9 - Run for 2 yard TD by Harris. Harris took the handoff from the FB spot. Similar to the play before when he was at FB, but this time out of the straight I formation. Douglas (C) and Lee (LG) just bulldozed the way and Harris followed them right in.
Defense 7th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 7 yards. Looked like an RPO. Howell pulled it as Pickens, Sterling, and Ellis quickly took away the RB option. Howell then scrambled as the WRs were well covered. Johnson and Sterling made the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass for 7 yards. Johnson and Roderick blitzed. Sterling and Pickens ran a stunt. Howell rolled out the pocket and found an open WR.
Play 3 - Incomplete pass. Play-action. Staley blitzed. Johnson came on the delayed blitz after seeing the fake handoff. Ellis and Pickens ran a stunt. Rush had good coverage and his length really bothered WRs this game. Pass slightly over thrown.
Play 4 - Pass for 21 yards. Short pass to the WR who came out the backfield. WR caught it in front of Spaulding as Spaulding was at LB depth and tried to make a play in the ball, but missed. Spaulding and Staley ran into each other. Dial forced WR out of bounds.
Play 5 - Pass for 3 yards. Looked like another RPO but Howell pulled quickly. Roderick on the open field tackle.
Play 6 - Pass for 37 yard TD. Trick play. Foster was initially covering the TE, but released him when he read run on the end around. Rush was pulled away by the WR, so no one was on that side of the field.
Offense 8th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 8 yards by Harris. Counter. Lee (LG) and Bell (TE) pulled. Lee tripped and accidentally drilled Muse. Bell didn’t block anyone. Wannamaker went to the LB. S came over to make the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 4 yards by Harris. Gwyn(RG) and Wannamaker (RT) doubled and drove the DT, while Muse (TE) turned out the DE creating space for Harris to run through.
Play 3 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. QB read option and one that Joyner probably should have pulled.
Play 4 - Pass from Joyner to Bell for 3 yards. Same play that was run for Brown earlier in the game. UNC didn’t bite as hard on the fake to Harris this time.
Play 5 - Run for 5 yards by Harris. Douglas (C) turned the DT. Wannamaker (RT) turned the DE. Gwyn (RG) took the blitzing LB and drove him 4 yards downfield. It was only 5 yards, but Harris again showed why he’s been so good for us when healthy.
Play 6 - Run for 2 yards by Harris. Douglas (C) worked his way to playside LB. Unaccounted for backside LB came down to make the tackle.
Play 7 - Incomplete pass. Pass from Zeb intended for EJ. EJ was well covered and Zeb put too much zip on the pass. Same play that was run earlier in the game when Leggette got the 1st down on the out route. Looked like Leggette was open again, but Zeb didn’t look in his direction.
Play 8 - Pass from Zeb to Bell for 8 yards. Crossing route that was intended for Bell the whole way. Vann took the CB deep to clear out that side. Harris came out the backfield and set a good block on the perimeter. Muse got enough of the DB to allow Bell to get the first down.
Play 9 - Loss of 19 yards by Blake. Attempted trick play that would have been a WR pass to Vann, but UNC had it covered.
Play 10 - Delay of Game.
Play 11 - Run for 8 yards by Joyner. Designed QB run. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee blocked the DE. Muse went to the S and drove him about 7 yards downfield. Wannamaker (RT) went to the backside LB and demolished him.
Play 12 - Incomplete pass. Pass from Zeb intended for EJ on a deep crossing route, but the DB made a good play and got his hand on the pass.
Play 13 - Delay of Game.
Defense 8th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 14 yards. At first, I thought this was just a scramble by Howell, but after watching how the RB released to block, I think it was a designed QB draw. Johnson and Foster made the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 1 yard loss. Pickens whipped the LG and made the tackle in the backfield.
END OF 3RD QUARTER
Play 3 - Incomplete pass. Kaba came on the blitz up the middle and was drug down by the C. Holding called but was declined. Platel with good coverage on the WR.
Play 4 - Sack for 7 yard loss. Staley and Roderick blitzed. Roderick was first one to hit QB as he came on a free release. Staley hit Howell next and Strachan cleaned up.
Offense 9th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 7 yards by Harris. OL with a decent push. Muse(TE) was able to collapse the DE inside. Harris followed up right behind Muse.
Play 2 - Run for 4 yards. QB read option. Joyner pulled and ran for the first down. Kenion with a good block on the perimeter.
Play 3 - Pass for 12 yards from Joyner to Bell. Looked like an RPO. LBs got sucked up on the play fake. Joyner hit Bell on the slant.
Play 4 - Run for 38 yards by Harris. OL hat on hat. Douglas released to playside LB. Bell got a good block on the S. Harris broke 2 tackles in the hole to break it open, until he was run out of bounds.
Play 5 - Run for 2 yards by Juju. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled and eventually blocked the LB. Bell (FB) didn’t block anyone. Juju broke the tackle of a blitzing LB in the backfield.
Play 6 - Run for 3 yards by Joyner. QB read option. Joyner pulled and got a few yards.
Play 7 - Run for 6 yards by Joyner. A lot of misdirection on this play with play fakes to an in motion Juju and also Harris before Joyner kept it. OL blocked down. Muse (TE) pulled and pancaked the CB. EJ got two blocks on the play, first driving the CB inside, then on the LB.
Play 8 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. Initially well blocked. S came up to make the tackle. Kenion (TE) couldn’t sustain the block on the LB and Nichols (LT) couldn’t sustain the block on the DE.
Play 9 - Run for 5 yards by Harris. Motioned into Wildcat. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled and helped block DT. Muse (FB) blocked DE. Wannamaker (RT) went to LB. OL helped push the pile forward.
Play 10 - Incomplete pass. Play-action. Zeb tried to connect with Leggette but the pass was over thrown. Leggette was open due to the play fake.
Defense 9th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 4 yards. Webb beat the block of LG but over pursued. Foster and Burch made the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 5 yards. Same play, opposite direction. Webb and Huntley doubled and pushed out. Staley, Johnson, Sterling on the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 4 yards. Similar play, opposite direction. Burch made the tackle assisted by Johnson.
Play 4 - Sack for 6 yard loss. Play-action. Staley came on the blitz and beat the LG.
Play 5 - Incomplete pass. Same blitz. LG missed Staley and Staley batted the pass.
Play 6 - Incomplete pass. Staley and Foster blitzed. Rush on the tight coverage.
Offense 10th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 23 yards by Harris. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn destroyed the DE. Muse went to the LB. Kenion (TE) worked to backside LB. Harris showed that shiftiness and vision again. Harris then drug several UNC players for a number of yards at backend of run.
Play 2 - Run for no gain by Harris. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee kicked out DE. Muse got knocked back by the blitzing LB. UNC was ready for this play and had a run blitz on.
Play 3 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. Harris broke a tackle at the LOS and got what he could.
Play 4 - Run for 10 yards by Joyner. Same play that went to Brown before. UNC had it covered, so Joyner kept and ran it for the 1st down.
Play 5 - Run for 1 yard loss by Harris. UNC DL got good push at the LOS and gave Harris no room to run.
Play 6 - Run for 11 yards by Harris. Outside Zone. Nichols (LT) and Lee (LG) did a nice job turning their guys inside. Muse (TE) drove the CB about 10 yards downfield. Kenion (TE) drove the S about 7 yards downfield. LBs took some bad angles. Penalty on UNC.
Play 7 - Run for 4 yard loss by Juju. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee went to the DE. Muse couldn’t reach the blitzing LB which forced Juju to belly out and allow UNC to catch up to him.
Play 8 - Run for 1 yard loss. UNC with another run blitz leaving Harris with no where to go.
Play 9 - Run for 4 yards by Harris. Lee (LG) with the nice block on blitzing LB. S came down to make the tackle.
Defense 10th Drive:
Play 1 - Incomplete pass. Staley on the coverage.
Play 2 - Run for 5 yard gain. QB scrambled. Staley made the tackle. Penalty on UNC.
Play 3 - Run for 19 yards. QB scrambled.
END OF GAME
Defense 1st Drive:
Play 1 - Pass for 14 yards. Blocked as an RPO but looked like decision was already made as a pass pre-snap. Pickens blew up the C so the run wouldn’t have been there anyway. Dial with good coverage, but Howell threw a perfect pass. Dial with the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 11 yards. Ellis blew up the C but over pursued. Pickens doubled by LG and LT. LT then worked to Staley. Roderick filled the gap but missed the tackle. Johnson missed the tackle before Platel made the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 1 yard. RB draw. Staley and Foster blitzed. Johnson, Ellis, and Burch on the tackle.
Play 4 - Run for 5 yards. Ellis ended up taking on a double from the RT and pulling LG. Pulling TE went to Burch. RG tried to block Johnson, but Johnson made the tackle.
Play 5 - Sack for 10 yard loss. Pickens and Ellis ran a twist which caused the OL some confusion and allowed Sterling a free rush to QB. Sterling went high on Howell and got shoved off. Ellis cleaned up with the sack. It looked like UNC was trying to clear out the middle of the field for a slant, which was there as #11 came wide open, but nice job by the DL to prevent the pass from happening.
Offense 1st Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 20 yards by Bell. Counter. Bell motioned into the backfield. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee blocked the DE. Muse chipped the LB. Harris blocked the S. Vann blocked CB. Nice run by Bell but also poor job by UNC on outside contain.
Play 2 - Run for 9 yards by Harris. Looked like DUO. Kenion (TE) kicked out DE. Leggette (WR) blocked CB. Muse (TE) blocked blitzing LB. Lee (LG) went to backside LB. Harris ran through the big hole.
Play 3 - False Start.
Play 4 - Pass for 69 yard TD from Joyner to Bell. Bell motioned from out wide to inside. Play-action to Harris as the OL blocked down and Muse (TE) pulled. Leggette went on a deep crossing route which caused one S to pick him up and the other S to shift over the top. Bell started the route as a wheel route which matched him up against the CB and then bent the route back inside. Since the other S shifted towards Leggette, there was no help over the top. Nice job by Joyner getting air underneath the ball and great catch by Bell going full speed and making the over the shoulder catch.
Defense 2nd Drive:
Play 1 - Incomplete pass. Staley came on the blitz after the play-action, but no pressure on Howell. Platel was shoved off on the play but still managed to be right there on the coverage. Platel may have deflected the ball, I couldn’t tell.
Play 2 - Incomplete pass. RB dropped the pass.
Play 3 - Pass for 9 yards. Johnson came on the blitz and hit Howell right after he threw it. Dial on the coverage and tackle.
Offense 2nd Drive:
Play 1 - Pass from Joyner to Juju for 11 yards. Swing pass. Brown got a great block on the perimeter - flipping the defender. EJ also set a good block.
Play 2 - Run for no gain by Joyner. Joyner couldn’t find anyone to throw to, so he scrambled out of bounds.
Play 3 - Pass for 66 yard TD from Zeb to Bell. Looked like an RPO. LBs were sucked in on the fake handoff. Bell ran a slant and got matched up on the S who was shrugged off and then had no chance to chase Bell down.
Defense 3rd Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 2 yard loss. UNC pulled the RG and RT, so when Huntley beat the C block, he had a free run at the RB. Huntley couldn’t bring down the RB, but Staley slipped underneath the pulling RT block to make the tackle along with Webb.
Play 2 - Run for 8 yards. Webb doubled. C worked to Kaba. LT went to Roderick. Strachan squeezed, but not enough as he took on the block of the FB. Foster made the tackle with Kaba and Staley.
Play 3 - Run for no gain. Howell couldn’t find anyone as the pocket collapsed, so he scrambled. We ran a blitz which I don’t recall seeing us run this year. Johnson blitzed up the middle and Staley came on the delayed blitz when he saw RB stayed home to block. Burch and Strachan ran a stunt which threw UNC OL for a loop. Howell was fortunate not to be dropped for a loss.
Offense 3rd Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 8 yards by Joyner. Play-action. Joyner had all day and did a really nice job moving around in the pocket. He continued to keep his eyes downfield until he finally decided to scramble.
Play 2 - Run for 11 yards by Harris. OL and Muse blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled and missed going at the CB, but still had the same result as the CB wanted no part of Lee and just got out the way. Jones (FB) was aggressive but hit the wrong guys as he ran into Muse and knocked him off his block and then ran into Lee and knocked him out the way. Harris broke the tackle of the LB in the hole and pulled away from a few arm tackles before being brought down by the two S.
Play 3 - Run for 7 yards by Harris. Lee (LG) and Douglas (C) looked like grown men on this play. They doubled the DT initially as Lee continued to drive the DT and Douglas released to the LB. S came down to make the tackle.
Play 4 - Run for 6 yards by Harris. OL blocked down. Wannamaker (RT) released to play side LB, but missed, so he went to backside LB. Harris made a nice cut to make the DE miss in the hole.
Play 5 - Run for 17 yards by Joyner. QB read option. UNC bit hard on the fake handoff to Harris and Joyner pulled. Bell released to 2nd level, but didn’t block anyone. EJ got a decent block on CB. S took a bad angle which allowed Joyner to get to the outside.
Play 6 - Run for negative 5 yards by Bell. OL blocked down and Douglas (C) tried to pull, but the edge blocks were lost. Harris couldn’t block the DE and Nichols couldn’t turn the DT.
Play 7 - Run for 4 yards by Harris. Man on man blocking. Muse (TE) motioned out to pull one LB out the box. Douglas (C) released to LB.
Play 8 - Run for 6 yards by Bell. Same counter play that we started the game with, just to the opposite direction. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse couldn’t get enough of the LB, who made the tackle. Vann (WR) blocked the CB. Harris attempted to block the S, but didn’t do a great job as the S assisted on the tackle.
Defense 4th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 4 yards. QB read option. Howell pulled as Burch and Webb overplayed to RB. Burch still managed to redirect himself and assist Roderick on the tackle. Roderick was spying the QB the whole time. Despite Burch initially taking himself out the play, it was impressive how he adjusted and got right back into it.
END OF 1st QUARTER
Play 2 - Run for 2 yards. Tyreek Johnson was pancaked by the pulling LG. Brad Johnson slammed the pulling LT to the ground. Burch impressively leapt over the attempted cut block by the TE and chased the RB down from behind for the tackle. Foster assisted on the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 3 yards. Low fumbled snap. Howell picked it up and ran for a few yards. Ellis and Pickens ran a stunt, which ended up causing Burch to be double teamed. Tyreek Johnson missed the sack opportunity. Roderick missed the tackle. Ellis and Foster combined on the tackle.
Play 4 - Run for 3 yards. QB sneak on a quick count. Howell was able to bounce it outside. Johnson and Roderick on the tackle.
Play 5 - Incomplete pass. Staley and Foster came on the blitz. Staley with the pressure. Rush with the coverage and broke the pass up beautifully.
Play 6 - Run for 63 yard TD. The DTs and DEs ran a stunt to their respective sides. Strachan could not get off the LT block. C released to Johnson. Staley was in coverage. The only person who had a chance to make the tackle was Roderick and he took a bad angle.
Offense 4th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse kicked out the LB. Harris broke the tackle of the LB, but Lee (LG) couldn’t maintain his block on the DT who made the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass from Joyner to Brown for 1 yard. Muse got a good block on the perimeter, but it took too long for the ball to get into Brown’s hands.
Play 3 - Pass for 6 yards from Zeb to Leggette. Harris did a nice job on blitz pickup. Zeb delivered a strike to Leggette who did a nice job of bending the out route to the marker.
Play 4 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. Carolina quickly up to the line to run a play to avoid a replay on the previous play. Harris picked a spot and got what he could.
Play 5 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse whiffed on the LB. Nichols (LT) couldn’t get much push on DT as the DT and LB made the stop.
Play 6 - Zeb sacked for 8 yard loss. Blitzing LB came right up the middle untouched. Zeb had no chance.
Defense 5th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 3 yards. Pickens blew the LG into the backfield, which caused the RB to belly out the run more than he wanted. Platel nice job of helping set the edge. Strachan on the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass for 34 yards. No pressure on Howell and he drops the ball in perfectly to his WR. Platel on the coverage.
Play 3 - Howell sacked for no gain. Looked like it was supposed to be an RPO, but the WR ran a different route. Howell tried to scramble after pulling the ball, but Pickens and Sterling were there waiting.
Play 4 - Pass for 23 yards. No pressure on Howell and he delivered a pinpoint pass. Dial had good coverage, but the pass was better.
Play 5 - Run for no gain. Pickens was double teamed and pancaked by the LG and LT. Burch took on the pulling RG and set the edge. Platel came on blitz when he saw RB getting the ball, but he missed the tackle. Ellis swimmed the C block and made the tackle.
Play 6 - Sack for 10 yard loss. Sack by Pickens and Strachan. Pickens absolutely bullied the LG after getting pancaked the play before. Strachan happened to be there as Howell attempted to scramble. Nice job in coverage by the back 7.
Play 7 - Incomplete pass. Pickens with the pressure. Foster broke up the pass.
Offense 5th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 3 yards by Joyner. Designed QB run. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled. Everyone was blocked but 1 LB, who made the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass from Joyner to Juju for 8 yards. Swing pass. Caught UNC on a blitz. Leggette with a great block on the LB. Vann with a good block on the CB. Muse came in motion and went to the S.
Play 3 - Run for 17 yards by Harris. One of Harris’s best runs of the day. He was patient in letting a hole develop and then hit it. Broke two tackles along the way. Wannamaker handled the DE to help create the initial hole.
Play 4 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled. Jones (FB) went after the CB who wanted not part of Jones. The DT that Gwyn (RG) was on slipped the block and made the tackle.
Play 5 - Pass from Joyner to Brown for 11 yards. Wannamaker (RT) was beat in pass pro, but it didn’t matter as Joyner rolled out and found Brown. Muse sealed off the the DE to allow an open rollout for Joyner. Brown did a nice job of cutting off his route and working back to the ball.
Play 6 - Run for 35 yard TD by Juju. Juju broke a tackle in the hole and then another one near the goal line. Hat on hat by the OL. EJ set a nice block on the perimeter.
Defense 6th Drive:
Play 1 - Pass for 13 yards. Foster on the tackle. No pressure as Howell got the ball out quickly.
Play 2 - Sack for 4 yard loss. Might have been a designed QB draw. Platel filled the gap and forced Howell to rollout. Burch was waiting there for him.
Play 3 - Pass for 13 yards. Howell again threw a strike and got the ball out quickly. Roderick on the coverage.
Play 4 - Pass for 28 yards. Howell again showed why he’s 1st round NFL talent. Dial had excellent coverage on the WR, but the ball was thrown perfectly. No pressure on Howell with a 4 man rush.
Play 5 - Pass for 1 yard. Swing pass that was not thrown well. Johnson in coverage.
Play 6 - Run for 8 yards. Staley and Johnson blitzed. Howell was flushed from the pocket and chased out of bounds by Pickens. Strachan would have had the edge, but he slipped and then attempted to drop back.
Play 7 - Run for no gain. Pickens held his ground against the double of C and LG. RG went to Staley. Ellis slipped the block of the RT and made the tackle.
Play 8 - False start.
Offense 6th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 2 yards by Harris. Harris bounced it outside and tried to stay in bounds to run out the clock.
HALFTIME
Offense 7th Drive
Play 1 - Pass from Joyner to Juju for 8 yards. Swing pass. Excellent blocks by Muse and Leggette on the perimeter.
Play 2 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. OL got push up front, but couldn’t get up 2nd level as the LB came up to make the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 2 yards by Harris. Harris got the carry from the FB spot and plowed forward for a few yards.
Play 4 - Pass from Joyner to EJ for 6 yards. Play-action. Muse set two excellent blocks to allow Joyner to roll out and complete the pass. Good job by EJ working back to the ball.
Play 5 - Run for 3 yards by Joyner. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn blocked the DE. Muse went to the LB. Juju went in motion pre snap which was enough to get one LB out of position. Joyner was met by the S, but pushed forward enough for the 1st down.
Play 6 - Pass from Joyner to Brown 26 yards. We’ve seen this play multiple times over the season, but usually to Bell or Vann. Play-action rollout with Brown coming across underneath. Brown caught it and showed his speed.
Play 7 - Pass for 23 yards from Joyner to Brown. Juju went into motion and took the LB and CB with him, allowing Brown to come wide open. Probably would have been a TD with a better throw. Brown had to slow down and adjust to the the ball.
Play 8 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. OL got some push and Harris plowed forward.
Play 9 - Run for 2 yard TD by Harris. Harris took the handoff from the FB spot. Similar to the play before when he was at FB, but this time out of the straight I formation. Douglas (C) and Lee (LG) just bulldozed the way and Harris followed them right in.
Defense 7th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 7 yards. Looked like an RPO. Howell pulled it as Pickens, Sterling, and Ellis quickly took away the RB option. Howell then scrambled as the WRs were well covered. Johnson and Sterling made the tackle.
Play 2 - Pass for 7 yards. Johnson and Roderick blitzed. Sterling and Pickens ran a stunt. Howell rolled out the pocket and found an open WR.
Play 3 - Incomplete pass. Play-action. Staley blitzed. Johnson came on the delayed blitz after seeing the fake handoff. Ellis and Pickens ran a stunt. Rush had good coverage and his length really bothered WRs this game. Pass slightly over thrown.
Play 4 - Pass for 21 yards. Short pass to the WR who came out the backfield. WR caught it in front of Spaulding as Spaulding was at LB depth and tried to make a play in the ball, but missed. Spaulding and Staley ran into each other. Dial forced WR out of bounds.
Play 5 - Pass for 3 yards. Looked like another RPO but Howell pulled quickly. Roderick on the open field tackle.
Play 6 - Pass for 37 yard TD. Trick play. Foster was initially covering the TE, but released him when he read run on the end around. Rush was pulled away by the WR, so no one was on that side of the field.
Offense 8th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 8 yards by Harris. Counter. Lee (LG) and Bell (TE) pulled. Lee tripped and accidentally drilled Muse. Bell didn’t block anyone. Wannamaker went to the LB. S came over to make the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 4 yards by Harris. Gwyn(RG) and Wannamaker (RT) doubled and drove the DT, while Muse (TE) turned out the DE creating space for Harris to run through.
Play 3 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. QB read option and one that Joyner probably should have pulled.
Play 4 - Pass from Joyner to Bell for 3 yards. Same play that was run for Brown earlier in the game. UNC didn’t bite as hard on the fake to Harris this time.
Play 5 - Run for 5 yards by Harris. Douglas (C) turned the DT. Wannamaker (RT) turned the DE. Gwyn (RG) took the blitzing LB and drove him 4 yards downfield. It was only 5 yards, but Harris again showed why he’s been so good for us when healthy.
Play 6 - Run for 2 yards by Harris. Douglas (C) worked his way to playside LB. Unaccounted for backside LB came down to make the tackle.
Play 7 - Incomplete pass. Pass from Zeb intended for EJ. EJ was well covered and Zeb put too much zip on the pass. Same play that was run earlier in the game when Leggette got the 1st down on the out route. Looked like Leggette was open again, but Zeb didn’t look in his direction.
Play 8 - Pass from Zeb to Bell for 8 yards. Crossing route that was intended for Bell the whole way. Vann took the CB deep to clear out that side. Harris came out the backfield and set a good block on the perimeter. Muse got enough of the DB to allow Bell to get the first down.
Play 9 - Loss of 19 yards by Blake. Attempted trick play that would have been a WR pass to Vann, but UNC had it covered.
Play 10 - Delay of Game.
Play 11 - Run for 8 yards by Joyner. Designed QB run. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee blocked the DE. Muse went to the S and drove him about 7 yards downfield. Wannamaker (RT) went to the backside LB and demolished him.
Play 12 - Incomplete pass. Pass from Zeb intended for EJ on a deep crossing route, but the DB made a good play and got his hand on the pass.
Play 13 - Delay of Game.
Defense 8th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 14 yards. At first, I thought this was just a scramble by Howell, but after watching how the RB released to block, I think it was a designed QB draw. Johnson and Foster made the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 1 yard loss. Pickens whipped the LG and made the tackle in the backfield.
END OF 3RD QUARTER
Play 3 - Incomplete pass. Kaba came on the blitz up the middle and was drug down by the C. Holding called but was declined. Platel with good coverage on the WR.
Play 4 - Sack for 7 yard loss. Staley and Roderick blitzed. Roderick was first one to hit QB as he came on a free release. Staley hit Howell next and Strachan cleaned up.
Offense 9th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 7 yards by Harris. OL with a decent push. Muse(TE) was able to collapse the DE inside. Harris followed up right behind Muse.
Play 2 - Run for 4 yards. QB read option. Joyner pulled and ran for the first down. Kenion with a good block on the perimeter.
Play 3 - Pass for 12 yards from Joyner to Bell. Looked like an RPO. LBs got sucked up on the play fake. Joyner hit Bell on the slant.
Play 4 - Run for 38 yards by Harris. OL hat on hat. Douglas released to playside LB. Bell got a good block on the S. Harris broke 2 tackles in the hole to break it open, until he was run out of bounds.
Play 5 - Run for 2 yards by Juju. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled and eventually blocked the LB. Bell (FB) didn’t block anyone. Juju broke the tackle of a blitzing LB in the backfield.
Play 6 - Run for 3 yards by Joyner. QB read option. Joyner pulled and got a few yards.
Play 7 - Run for 6 yards by Joyner. A lot of misdirection on this play with play fakes to an in motion Juju and also Harris before Joyner kept it. OL blocked down. Muse (TE) pulled and pancaked the CB. EJ got two blocks on the play, first driving the CB inside, then on the LB.
Play 8 - Run for 1 yard by Harris. Initially well blocked. S came up to make the tackle. Kenion (TE) couldn’t sustain the block on the LB and Nichols (LT) couldn’t sustain the block on the DE.
Play 9 - Run for 5 yards by Harris. Motioned into Wildcat. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) pulled and helped block DT. Muse (FB) blocked DE. Wannamaker (RT) went to LB. OL helped push the pile forward.
Play 10 - Incomplete pass. Play-action. Zeb tried to connect with Leggette but the pass was over thrown. Leggette was open due to the play fake.
Defense 9th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 4 yards. Webb beat the block of LG but over pursued. Foster and Burch made the tackle.
Play 2 - Run for 5 yards. Same play, opposite direction. Webb and Huntley doubled and pushed out. Staley, Johnson, Sterling on the tackle.
Play 3 - Run for 4 yards. Similar play, opposite direction. Burch made the tackle assisted by Johnson.
Play 4 - Sack for 6 yard loss. Play-action. Staley came on the blitz and beat the LG.
Play 5 - Incomplete pass. Same blitz. LG missed Staley and Staley batted the pass.
Play 6 - Incomplete pass. Staley and Foster blitzed. Rush on the tight coverage.
Offense 10th Drive:
Play 1 - Run for 23 yards by Harris. OL blocked down. Gwyn (RG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Gwyn destroyed the DE. Muse went to the LB. Kenion (TE) worked to backside LB. Harris showed that shiftiness and vision again. Harris then drug several UNC players for a number of yards at backend of run.
Play 2 - Run for no gain by Harris. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee kicked out DE. Muse got knocked back by the blitzing LB. UNC was ready for this play and had a run blitz on.
Play 3 - Run for 3 yards by Harris. Harris broke a tackle at the LOS and got what he could.
Play 4 - Run for 10 yards by Joyner. Same play that went to Brown before. UNC had it covered, so Joyner kept and ran it for the 1st down.
Play 5 - Run for 1 yard loss by Harris. UNC DL got good push at the LOS and gave Harris no room to run.
Play 6 - Run for 11 yards by Harris. Outside Zone. Nichols (LT) and Lee (LG) did a nice job turning their guys inside. Muse (TE) drove the CB about 10 yards downfield. Kenion (TE) drove the S about 7 yards downfield. LBs took some bad angles. Penalty on UNC.
Play 7 - Run for 4 yard loss by Juju. OL blocked down. Lee (LG) and Muse (TE) pulled. Lee went to the DE. Muse couldn’t reach the blitzing LB which forced Juju to belly out and allow UNC to catch up to him.
Play 8 - Run for 1 yard loss. UNC with another run blitz leaving Harris with no where to go.
Play 9 - Run for 4 yards by Harris. Lee (LG) with the nice block on blitzing LB. S came down to make the tackle.
Defense 10th Drive:
Play 1 - Incomplete pass. Staley on the coverage.
Play 2 - Run for 5 yard gain. QB scrambled. Staley made the tackle. Penalty on UNC.
Play 3 - Run for 19 yards. QB scrambled.
END OF GAME
