Panthers’ Quintin Mikell: We had to shut Jets’ Santonio Holmes up
By Mike Dyce
Before the New York Jets took on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, wide receiver Santonio Holmes had some sharp criticism for the Panthers’ secondary. Holmes did try to call them out, without calling them out though.
“Not to call these guys out, but their secondary is probably weakest link on their defense,” Holmes said last week.
The secondary wasn’t too fond of his comments and they responded during the week. Jets wide receiver David Nelson said the Panthers “made a point” of letting the Jets know they were upset with Holmes’ assessment.
“They made a point to let us know on the first drive that they weren’t appreciative of the comments and that they were going to make us pay throughout the game,” Nelson said, via ESPN New York. “On the first series, they were gunning for us.”
Holmes finished the game with two catches for 14 yards, despite being targeted eight times. Quarterback Geno Smith finished the game completing 15 of 28 passes for 157 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He finished with a quarterback rating of 34.6, and a passer rating of 68.6.
“With what Santonio said earlier in the week, we had to come out and shut him up. I think we did a good job of that,” Panthers safety Quintin Mikell said, via the team’s website. “Our thing all year has been that people point the finger at the secondary, and that’s fine. We drive the bus from the back. We’ve had some good games and we’ve had some bad games. Tonight we had a good one and just shut them down.”