After a disappointing 0-2 start to the season, the Panthers turned things around against the Chargers, earning a close 21-16 victory.
Here are four winners and four losers from the team’s first win in 11 games.
Winner: Panthers defensive line
Carolina’s defense started the day strong when defensive end Marquis Haynes got the team’s first sack of the season. Brian Burns followed up with relentless pressure all game, Derrick Brown pitched in three tackles for a loss and the team totaled seven hits on Justin Herbert. Add it all up and and you’ve got the best performance of the season from Phil Snow’s young defensive unit. The pass rush has underwhelming Weeks 1-2, so this was a refreshing change of pace. Hopefully they can keep it up.
Loser: Red zone offense
Even with amazing field position on almost all of the team’s drives, the Panthers offense was mostly only able to create chip shot opportunities for kicker Joey Slye instead of scoring touchdowns. If they had been able to convert more often inside the 20, the final score wouldn’t have been nearly as close as it was. They need to execute better in this area.
Winner: K Joey Slye
Slye saw plenty of action this week thanks to those failures in the red zone and he came through. Slye wound up going 5/5 on his field goal kicks. His only extra point attempt was blocked but that wasn’t Slye’s fault.
Loser: WR D.J. Moore
Aside from a single deep catch, Moore was virtually a non-factor on Sunday afternoon. Although he technically remains the team’s WR1, Robby Anderson has been a more consistent producer through three weeks of this season. Moore finished the game with just two catches, though they translated into 65 yards.
Winner: CB Donte Jackson
Jackson now has interceptions in two consecutive games, picking off both Tom Brady and Justin Herbert. Unfortunately, Jackson left the game with a toe injury, so that’s something we will be keeping an eye on as he tries to go for three in a row against Kyler Murray.
Loser: Third down
Going just 3/12 on third down usually won’t have a win attached to it. Luckily, the Panthers didn’t need to sustain long drives on offense to score points, thanks to the defense’s stellar performance and some mistakes by the Chargers. They don’t want to try this two weeks in a row, though.
Winner: RB Mike Davis
With Christian McCaffrey going on injured reserve this week, it was clear that the offense would need somebody else to step up. Veteran running back Mike Davis answered the call and made the most of his starting gig, rushing for 46 yards and adding 45 more off eight receptions. Davis also scored a touchdown off a screen pass by Teddy Bridgewater, breaking multiple tackles on the 13-yard catch-and-run.
Loser: Panthers left tackles
With Russell Okung out due to a groin injury, Carolina decided to rotate two of their left tackles today, switching out Greg Little and Trent Scott throughout the game. Let’s just say Okung doesn’t need to worry about either one taking his job for now. Neither one could slow down Joey Bosa.
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