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COLUMN: Panthers' latest comedy of errors falls on more than one set of shoulders

By CORY SPIERS
coryspiers@gmail.com

Kyle Allen was at quarterback again in Carolina's most recent game at San Francisco.

It didn't matter.

Make no mistake, on a day where the Panthers got blown out of Levi's Stadium to the tune of a 51-13 thrashing, it wouldn't have mattered if the quarterback was Allen, Cam Newton or Sir Isaac Newton.

The Panthers could have trotted out Dan Marino in his prime and it wouldn't have mattered.

It wasn't their day.

Allen was certainly less than stellar. He completed just 19-of-37 passes for 158 yards while throwing three picks compared to zero touchdowns.

The shiny carriage of Allen's run of unbeaten starts turned to a pumpkin and then rolled off the road and into a ditch where it was set ablaze.

But Allen won't be buying lunch for his offensive line. 49ers pass rushers set up seemingly permanent residence in the Panthers backfield and harassed the young quarterback.

Nick Bosa, in particular, abused the Panthers linemen like they stole his money. Bosa's three sacks were just a microcosm of a larger 49ers effort that produced seven sacks.

Indeed, even if Allen had stayed upright, it wouldn't have mattered. Not with the way Carolina's defense played.

With an extra week via the bye to prepare for the 49ers, Carolina knew what was coming-- a heavy dose of running via the 49ers' "big three" running back trio of Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert.

They knew it was coming but it didn't matter.

Coleman, a classic enemy of the state in Charlotte dating back to his days as a Falcon, ripped off huge chunks of yardage, scampering through holes big enough to drive a Subaru through.

Coleman breezed to a 9.5 yards per carry average to go along with three touchdowns. Mostert cruised, too, averaging 6.7 yards per carry to complement a touchdown of his own.

Breida was held to a modest 3.2 yards per carry.

As Panther defenders got shoved aside like last year's Christmas presents to a six-year-old, 49ers backs ran. And they ran, and then they ran some more.

And the score went up, and up and then, it went up some more.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was efficient, if largely underwhelming compared to the San Francisco ground onslaught. He threw just four incompletions and tossed two touchdowns to overshadow an early Luke Kuechly interception.

Tight end George Kittle-- a well-established staple of the San Francisco offense-- seemed to be an unknown commodity to Carolina's defense. He led the team with six catches for 86 yards.

Consistently, Kittle would motion for a first down and bend his wrist as if he was adding salt.

He was. Salt to Carolina's wounds.

The Panthers couldn't get out of their own way, which overshadowed and otherwise spoiled another ho-hum day at the office for Christian McCaffrey that featured 117 rushing yards, 38 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Carolina committed nine penalties which totaled 70 yards.

Infractions included an illegal formation when Taylor Moton suddenly couldn't figure out how to line up properly on the line and Dennis Daley forgot how far downfield he's allowed to block.

Hello?

Oh, and let us not forget the holding penalty (behind the runner) from Trai Turner that erased a monster gain from McCaffrey as the Panthers fought for air and teetered on being blown out.

The postgame chatter from fans has largely been about Cam Newton's health.

Is he close? Are there folks who still want Kyle Allen to start over a healthy Newton?

Those questions are irrelevant.

The Panthers have far more alarming issues than who will start at quarterback versus Tennessee.

Sunday's debacle in San Francisco wasn't the fault of one player or coach. It wasn't the fault of one side of the ball.

It was the fault of many, and that should scare the Panthers.

The head-to-head against San Fransisco was heralded as Carolina's first "real test."

The test was bombed. Remediation is needed and it's needed fast.

In an NFC where no one will go quietly, against an NFC top dog Sunday, the Panthers looked like a team trending closer to being on the outside looking in on the playoffs more than a true blue contender.

Hold that thought, I think San Francisco is about to score again.

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