The Panthers were 56 yards away from pay dirt and their fourth win of the season. But with just 1:24 left in the game, left tackle Rasheed Walker was pushed into the backfield by Denver Broncos pass rusher Nik Bonitto, who smacked the ball out of quarterback Bryce Young's right hand for a sack-fumble, which was recovered by the road team at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
The play closed out a 26-21 win for the Broncos and put Walker, who has struggled mightily with pass protection over the past month, under a microscope. Following the game, Walker said he felt like Bonitto set up that final defensive play with how he rushed Walker throughout the game.
"Bonitto is known to be a speed edge rusher -- bend the edge type of guy," Walker said. "I noticed like the whole game that he was bull-rushing me, like he doesn't really do a lot. I was sitting on the bull (rush), and then on the last play of the game, I feel like he faked the power, and then as soon as I was sitting down, he went [to the] edge and did his move and then made a play. When you're going against the best, you never know what you're going to get. Shout out to him, he's a great player and it was a good rep by him."
Walker has been charged with 45 QB pressures through eight games, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That's 19 more pressures than rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling, who has played one less game. Walker has faced one-on-one scenarios on 79.1% of his pass sets, and the free-agent addition has struggled to hold back the pressure on a consistent basis.
The 26-year-old can't let Sunday's sack-fumble ignite a prolonged pass protection slump over the coming weeks. The Panthers are in a three-game freefall at 3-5, and while they still enter Week 10 at the top of the division race, their NFC South showdown Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (3-5) looms large.
Every week Walker is typically going up against the opposing team's best pass rusher, and against the Broncos, he drew Bonitto. On that final play -- one that Walker wants back -- Bonitto beat Walker when it mattered the most.
"Just a really good rush on Rasheed," Panthers coach Dave Canales said. "Got the edge [and] was hoping that there was an element of Bryce going forward to get an incomplete pass, but a really nice rush. That's a situation where we can help him right there."
While Canales hoped the officials would signal an incomplete pass, Walker's hopes were a bit different, especially after he felt he put together a strong performance before that exclamation point for the Broncos.
"S---, when I saw the ball come out -- we both saw the ball come out, I watched him see the ball, I tried to make sure he didn't get it -- I was hoping that we got the ball back," Walker said. "I felt comfortable playing the whole game. I knew that play didn't define who I was and I was hoping that we'd get the ball back and get another opportunity to score. But, you know, they recovered the ball and that was that."
Walker spent last week studying his film to figure out what had led to his troubling performances in recent weeks. He came to the conclusion his footwork wasn't up to par, so he worked on that aspect of his game in practice and prior to the Bonitto strip-sack, he felt those adjustments paid off.
"I've been analyzing the issue that I've been having in pass pro," Walker said. "I haven't been playing like myself, and this week, I identified the issue, and I attacked it. Honestly, I didn't get to watch the film yet, but I feel like when I watch [this] game, I'm going to see progression from weeks before up until that last play.
"But O-line is a position where it's all about building. The three words that you should never say is, 'I got it,' cause the O-line, you've never got it. You've always gotta to keep getting better and developing."
The Panthers need their blindside blocker to keep Young upright. And if not, the QB, his left tackle and the team will continue to sink.
"Effort and mindset [were] never the issue," Walker said. "Honestly, it was my footwork. That's what I would say. Once I got my feet in the right footwork, which I did today, I felt like that made a huge difference. ... But sometimes people get the best of you -- it's a competitive league."