The Carolina Panthers are going to be severely short-handed in their secondary when they host the Detroit Lions for Sunday Night Football this week. It’ll be that way for some time after that too.
Carolina placed both of its star cornerbacks, Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, on injured reserve, meaning they’ll have to miss at least four games.
Both players left the Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns with injuries. Horn’s was described as a “significant quad injury” by head coach Dave Canales and Jackson left with a groin injury.
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Lions quarterback Jared Goff said the injuries change “a little bit” of what he’s looking for pre and post-snap, but they wouldn’t exactly throw their game plan out the window.
“With him in particular, he plays nickel and he plays corner,” Goff said of Horn. “...But yeah, he's a good player and you're always aware of where he is. But they have other good players, too, that you're always aware of where they are. I think you're looking for coverage in the same way. If Jaycee Horn, if he's not out there, I'm not looking for him, obviously. But you're looking for coverage in the same way and trying to diagnose that.”
As Goff said, Horn is a versatile player who wears multiple hats in Carolina’s secondary. He’s a strong press-man corner with the speed and instincts to cover just about any receiver in the NFL.
"There's no replacing Jaycee Horn," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "He has had such an amazing offseason, training camp, in-season. Just the energy, the preparation, all the different things, has been amazing, has been really beautiful. So there's no replacing that. We're not asking our guys to replace Jaycee. We're just asking them to do their job, and we'll make recommendations.”
Jackson is another one of the league’s top cornerbacks. He’s graded out exceptionally in man coverage and is a ballhawking boundary player. His 19 pass breakups last year led the NFL.
Last year, Horn and Jackson combined for nine interceptions. It’s a brutal break for Carolina.
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Will Lee III and Akayleb Evans are expected to step up as Carolina’s No. 1 and 2 corners going forward. Chau Smith-Wade is also an option.
Before the injuries to their cornerback duo, Carolina was allowing the fifth-fewest passing yards in the NFL and had the ninth-best defensive EPA per play against the pass. Now, they’ll draw a tough matchup against a humming Detroit offense.
Goff has thrown for 802 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions so far. Detroit is averaging 31 points per game and has the fourth-best passing EPA in the NFL.
Carolina is also dealing with injuries to rookie tackle Monroe Freeling, guard Damien Lewis, and wideouts Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette. None practiced Wednesday.
The Lions certainly know what it’s like to be banged up– especially in the secondary. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph have been sorely missed this year. Detroit has allowed the most passing yards in the league at 898, and is 27th in passing EPA allowed.
Good thing for the Panthers, quarterback Bryce Young is leading the NFL in passing yards with 939.
With two shorthanded defenses up against high-flying offenses, we could be in for a wild one Sunday night.
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