Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold’s three second half interceptions helped the Patriots to a win on Sunday afternoon and led to a heated exchange on the sideline.
After Darnold’s third interception, wide receiver Robby Anderson could be seen shouting in Darnold’s direction as he paced in the bench area and threw his helmet. Anderson said in his postgame press conference that “collectively we’re just not connecting” on offense and his frustration with that led to the outburst.
“That’s what comes with it,” Anderson said. “I know that they are most likely going to catch that so it’s not anything I’m hiding from them or nothing like that. I’m very passionate. This game means the world to me and I put my all in it just like everybody in this locker room does. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I know this game isn’t going to last forever, so when things don’t go in the right direction it hurts because you only get to live this dream one time.”
Darnold said all is well between him and Anderson after the game while adding that he didn’t need anyone to tell him that his play was not up to snuff in Sunday’s loss.
“Robby is a competitor just like all of us,” Darnold said. “I am fully aware that I didn’t play my best football today. Obviously, you want your teammates to be able to say, “Hey, let’s go. We have a lot of game left, let’s tighten up, let’s put some points on the board.” I mean it’s nothing more than that, me and Robby are cool, so I’m not worried about that.”
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule also downplayed the incident, but made it clear that “we can’t keep doing this” when asked about the offensive struggles that have led to losses in five of the last six games.