Sean McDermott’s Biggest Takeaways from the Packers’ TNF Win vs the Panthers

Sean McDermott brought a co-host to his latest visit with Rich. Champ, who watches football with the McDermotts on Sundays, refused to leave the frame, and Rich pictured him howling at the screen during bad football "like Peyton Manning in the Manning cast." Once Champ settled in, McDermott got to the real business: what Thursday night told us about the Packers and the Panthers.

His takeaway on Green Bay started with the arc of the season. "You want to be having your team improve on an upward trajectory through the course of the season, and I think Matt LaFleur and his staff have done a phenomenal job of getting that team into that space," McDermott said.

He does have one question about the Packers. "How's their run game going to look down the stretch," he said, while noting that the passing game "is certainly thriving right now." With Micah Parsons coming back at some point, McDermott called Green Bay's position impressive.

The moment of the night was Watson. Rich asked McDermott to imagine being LaFleur on the sideline, hearing that Watson had gone to the hospital, then being told he was back and returning to the game. McDermott admitted he had never seen anything like it on television. "Pretty heroic moment," he said, describing Watson jogging back out off the ambulance as fans greeted him. "His teammates, I thought that was awesome to see," McDermott added, before pointing out that Watson then made a key third down catch. "What a night he had, right? So, full circle evening."

Carolina's problem, in McDermott's view, is obvious. "The challenge for them is their obvious challenge, which is how well they can protect Bryce Young in that pocket," he said. Young was affected awfully early and consistently throughout the game. "You've got to be able to throw the ball well from the pocket to win games in the NFL."

That is what made the next headline strange to Rich. After the game, the Panthers fired their defensive coordinator. Rich pointed out that McDermott had not blamed the defense at all. He had blamed the protection.

McDermott, speaking from the perspective of someone who has made those calls, said the head coach and general manager are ultimately responsible for decisions in the best interest of the team, and that this one surely was not easy. He compared it to trade season. "Those are tough decisions. People's livelihoods are at stake," he said. His read was that the team "felt like maybe philosophically there wasn't a match at that point or anymore."

He also gave Carolina credit for how it finished. The Panthers played more complementary football in the second half, getting the ball out of Young's hand quickly and using play action to freeze the defensive linemen who had caused problems early. "I thought that was working for them in the second half, and they scored a few times there," McDermott said.

So the firing was hard for him to see from the outside. But he understood it. "Being in that position myself, it's ultimately making the best decision that you feel is right for the team in those moments," McDermott said.