Is Isaac TeSlaa Playing Tonight? Why WR Isn’t Doing Anything in Panthers-Lions Game

The Carolina Panthers were struggling to shut down many aspects of the Detroit Panthers' approach on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.

One guy they didn't have a problem slowing down was Isaac TeSlaa.

An athletic second year wide receiver for the Lions, TeSlaa didn't have a single catch in the first half for Detroit.

That's despite the fact that TeSlaa was indeed on the field a lot.

Yep, TeSlaa is indeed healthy and active and playing on Sunday night for the Lions.

The problem is simply that he hasn't caught the ball yet.

TeSlaa had two targets in the first half but didn't catcher either.

One of those is pictured above. That's Panthers CB Akayleb Evans doing a great job to break the pass up.

TeSlaa actually ended the play by ripping the helmet off Evans' head, although no penalty was called as it may have been accidental.

The Panthers would've known there were a lot of weapons to shut down on Sunday night.

The first aspect is Jahmyr Gibbs running the ball, and in the first half, the Panthers held him to 35 yards on 11 runs, just 3.2 yards per carry. Gibbs did have a rushing TD.

In the passing game, it was big-play threat Jameson Williams who had the best first half. He caught four passes for 74 yards in the first half, including a 49-yarder.

Amon-Ra St. Brown added three first-half grabs for 37 yards.

The backup RB Sione Vaki had one catch on two targets for 17 yards.

Sam LaPorta, the star tight end, caught 3-of-5 targets in the first half for 16 yards.

And Gibbs had four targets, catching two, for nine yards.

The Lions don't really use any other receivers beyond TeSlaa. When they go 3-wide, he's in the game.

The Panthers had just done a good job thus far of not letting TeSlaa get space. He's one of those guys who does a great job of making jump-ball grabs.

Carolina is shorthanded at cornerback, meaning the guys guarding TeSlaa are usually from way down the depth chart.

It turns out they're up for it at least with that matchup.