The Arizona Cardinals and head coach Jonathan Gannon made life miserable for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and head coach Dave Canales, from start to finish, Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

With creative defensive play-calling, Gannon dialed up the pass rush, creating pressure that Carolina simply couldn’t consistently counter in a 27-22 loss.

The excessive pressure led to turnovers by Young on each of the first two possessions. Those mishaps also led to 10 easy points for Arizona, as Gannon’s crew took advantage of a sack-strip fumble recovered in the end zone and an interception hauled in within Carolina territory that led to a field goal.

Despite a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, which included a run of 19 unanswered points, the early miscues essentially buried Carolina in a hole the Panthers couldn’t fully climb out of.

The Panthers are now staring at an 0-2 start for the fourth consecutive season.

With the first home game of the season looming in Week 3, the Panthers better hope that some home cooking is the cure to this early road rash of losses. The failed comeback attempt could potentially be the start of something positive, all things considered.

Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s blowout loss:

Early offensive miscues sink Carolina

Young’s two first-quarter turnovers were rough and ultimately made the difference in a five-point game.

While the protection (or lack thereof) was largely to blame, Young didn’t see a free rusher blitzing toward him on a play that wound up being an interception off a QB hit.

The two turnovers put the Panthers in a 10-point hole in the middle of the first quarter, and they were forced to climb out of the abyss all game.

The third-year QB somewhat bounced back after early miscues, leading a field-goal drive as a desperation answer in the first half.

However, Young’s success felt like it was behind the eight ball all game long. He was fortunate that wideout Tetairoa McMillan (more on him later) played up to his billing as the eight overall pick. McMillan’s 40-yard catch-and-run play in the first quarter ultimately set Carolina up for the squad’s first points of the game.

Young finished with 111 passing yards and one scoring drive in the first half. He was hit four times in the first two quarters, as Gannon continued to mix and match personnel in his pressure packages.

Four of the Panthers’ first five offensive series ended in either a turnover or a punt.

The lack of success from the ground attack also didn’t help matters for Young or Canales. Carolina gained just 12 yards on the ground during the first half. Granted, when a team starts down 10-0 after two possessions, it’s hard to lean on the run without panic.

The score was 27-3 before the offense touched the ball in the third quarter, which led to an onslaught of passes, in an attempt to make up ground quickly. Running back Chuba Hubbard had just nine carries for 35 yards, while collecting five catches for 39 yards and a touchdown as a receiver out of the backfield.

Young completed 35 of 55 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the loss. He led four scoring drives, but two came with the Panthers trailing by at least two scores.

Kind of hard to put blame on the defense

The Panthers’ defense only gave up 20 points on Sunday.

The opening touchdown score by the Cardinals came off a fumble recovery against the Panthers’ offense. Plus, the next three points were from a field goal after an interception in Carolina territory.

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero took a lot of flak this week for his unit’s struggles against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But against the Cardinals, the group mostly kept Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense in check, save for a long third-quarter touchdown drive to begin the second half.

Also, unlike last week, Evero played rookies Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen and Lathan Ransom early and often. The rookie trio rewarded the coordinator with some individual flashes. Umanmielen produced the first Panthers sack of the season, while Ransom collected four tackles.

Arizona produced 83 rushing yards and 220 passing yards on offense. Murray was also picked off by outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum to thwart a promising drive on the Panthers’ side of the field in the fourth quarter.

Murray and the Cardinals’ offense had four scoring drives on the afternoon. Two of those drives began on the Panthers’ side of the field.

It might be time to shake up the operation

It’s unclear who the Panthers could hand offensive play-calling to at this point, but they probably should start having the conversation.

Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik has only called plays in the preseason, but he might be the only option, if the Panthers decide that Canales needs to put more focus on the overall product.

The Panthers are 5-14 under Canales, and the offense has produced with little consistency in those 19 games. Sure, last season was punctuated by an intriguing finish, but for the most part, Canales’ offense has felt unimaginative. His play-calling flow has also been hard to follow.

Canales will probably balk at this idea, but it might be in his best interest to pull a Nick Sirianni, circa 2021 with the Philadelphia Eagles, and delegate the play-calling responsibilities to allow the entire operation to flow, if possible.

The Panthers put up 352 net offensive yards against the Cardinals. A massive chunk of that yardage came with the game largely out of whack with a comeback attempt.

McMillan looks like a future star

Lost in the muck of the overall offensive performance against the Cardinals was McMillan. The former University of Arizona standout was electric, as he caught four passes for 75 yards in the first half. His blend of size and elusiveness helped Young put together a scoring drive after two consecutive turnovers to begin the game.

McMillan finished the loss with six catches for 100 yards. He now has 11 catches for 168 yards on the season, and he looks the part of a legitimate No. 1 wideout.

With Xavier Legette, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Tommy Tremble offering up minimal results in the first two weeks, McMillan’s emergence is not only important, but essential.

Yes, the Panthers look lost, but the first-round rookie doesn’t ... at all.

The Panthers can’t start 0-3, right?

The Panthers will return to Bank of America Stadium feeling pretty somber.

They’ll host the Atlanta Falcons next week, and really, that’s already feeling like a must-win on several levels.

The hope has been left in the desert, and the goodwill has dried up. Now, they’ll need to get this losing camel off their backs or continue a winless drought into another road game against the New England Patriots in Week 4.

This team felt different (in a good way) all offseason. There’s an argument to made that the Panthers are better on defense — at least from a talent standpoint — and they seemingly have nailed their first-round pick.

But it’s hard to feel good about this team in any way. They’re lost, and Canales, as their shepherd, doesn’t have the resume to make you feel like things will immediately turn around.

The Panthers looked outcoached in two consecutive games. They can’t allow that streak to extend without major consequences.

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