Haason Reddick sees “respect” for Panthers defense

The Panthers are definitely on the wrong side of the hump at the moment.

The statistics will tell you that the Panthers are still very good on defense. But the way they’ve played the last three weeks makes it harder to justify some of those numbers.

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule was asked about the team’s struggles on defense during the recent three-game losing streak, and he mentioned some of the particulars such as third-down defense, and their inability to keep teams from running.

“If we’ve lost three in a row, that’s how we’re playing,” Rhule said.

For the season, the Panthers still rank second in the NFL in yards allowed (293.0 per game), the “total defense” stat that’s the easiest to point to and to comprehend. They’re also eighth in the league in third-down percentage allowed (36.4 percent).

The numbers aren’t as complimentary in rush defense, where they’re 20th in the league (115.3 per game).

But the 13-game numbers cover up some of the recent trends.

In the last three losses, the Panthers have allowed opponents to gain 334.0 total yards per game — a number that would rank ninth in the league right now.

The 143.0 rushing yards per game allowed over the last three would rank 31st

And the 46.3 percent of third-down conversions allowed — a full 10 points worse than their season average — would rank 29th.

And those trends are coming at a time when they’re playing one of the league’s top offenses in Buffalo.

The Bills are a top-10 offense in most categories, even if they’re not built to run the ball as often as some teams the Panthers have played.

But they also know that their recent results invite teams to follow a familiar script.

“They’ll run the ball; we believe they’ll run the ball,” Chinn said when asked about the Bills. “I believe that’s probably everybody’s game plan to run the ball.”

The Panthers have invited that, and are trying to get back to the team that built up the statistical case that they’re capable of being good.