Category: Peak Performers

Panthers DE Yetur Gross-Matos is our Peak Performer for Week 15

Panthers DE Yetur Gross-Matos responded well to some added playing time in the team’s Week 15 loss to the Bills.

The Carolina Panthers have only used second-year defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos in doses this season. But with the team a bit shorthanded along its front on Sunday, the dosage was upped.

And Gross-Matos responded to the increase, chalking up five tackles (one for a loss) with a game-high 2.5 sacks against the Buffalo Bills in Week 15. That performance also matched his entire sack total of his rookie campaign in 2020.

About 24 hours prior to kickoff, the Panthers placed starting defensive tackle Derrick Brown on the reserve/COVID-19 list. His absence in the middle led to more burn for last year’s second-rounder, who had not played in 50 percent of the defense’s snaps in any of his prior 11 games.

Gross-Matos paced a four-sack outing of Bills quarterback Josh Allen, in which the fourth-year standout passer was limited to 210 yards on a 55.9-percent completion rate. Fellow ends and pass-rushing menaces Brian Burns (1.0) and Haason Reddick (0.5) accounted for the rest of that output.

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Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey is our Peak Performer for Week 10

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey may not be seeing as many touches since his return, but that hasn’t slowed down his effectiveness.

All anyone will talk about following the Carolina Panthers’ shocking 34-10 romp over the NFC-leading Arizona Cardinals is, of course, the return of Cam Newton. And you can’t blame ’em for that.

Superman made it quite apparent that he was, indeed, back in the building. Newton’s first two plays of the game, after all, resulted in a pair of thrilling touchdowns—a two-yard rush and a two-yard pass over the contest’s first seven minutes.

It was his old buddy in running back Christian McCaffrey, however, that shouldered much of the offense on Sunday.

In his second outing back from a five-week absence, the Panthers’ star rusher dashed the Cardinals’ defense for 95 yards on just 13 carries. That chunky average of 7.5 yards per attempt was complemented by some work through the air, where he also reeled in a game-high 10 catches for 66 more yards.

McCaffrey may not be seeing the massive workload since his return, but that has not slowed down his effectiveness. He’s now totaled 267 yards from scrimmage over 41 touches over Weeks 9 and 10.

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Panthers LB Haason Reddick is our Peak Performer for Week 5

The Panthers have found themselves something in Haason Reddick, who has now found 19.5 sacks over his last 21 games.

The Carolina Panthers have now officially hopped aboard the roller coaster. After getting out to a hot 3-0 start to begin the season, they’re now riding low on a two-game losing streak.

One of their joyous constants, however, has been pass-rushing extraordinaire Haason Reddick. The sometimes defensive end, sometimes linebacker (but starting linebacker today in an effort to replace an injured Shaq Thompson) showed out once again in Week 5.

Reddick chalked up a game-high 2.0 sacks and a team-high eight tackles in the crushing 21-18 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, his 2.0 sacks accounted for 100 percent of the defense’s output in that category.

The fifth-year defender is now already up to 6.5 quarterback takedowns through just five games here in 2021. Dating back to his final campaign with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020, Reddick has now recorded 19.0 sacks over his last 21 games.

In a close second and third to Reddick on the day were cornerback Donte Jackson and running back Chuba Hubbard. Jackson forced a pair of takeaways while Hubbard went for 134 scrimmage yards on 29 touches.

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Panthers WR DJ Moore is our Peak Performer in Week 4

Even in a rough loss to the Cowboys, WR DJ Moore continued to be a bright spot for the Panthers.

Almost everything that was constant for the Carolina Panthers through their first three games wasn’t in their Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Almost everything.

In keeping up his hot start, wideout DJ Moore recorded another juicy outing on Sunday. The fourth-year wideout reeled in eight catches for 113 yards and a season-high two touchdowns.

Even with the two scores, Moore’s most eye-opening play, perhaps, came on a strong and shifty catch-and-run in the first quarter. He turned a 10-yard gain from quarterback Sam Darnold into a blazing 29-yard reception to set the Panthers up for their first touchdown.

But let’s take a look at those anyway because, you know, everybody loves touchdowns!

Unfortunately for Carolina, those weren’t enough to make up the 20-point edge Dallas racked up in the third quarter. They did, though, add to what’s been an amazing four-game stretch for the receiver.

Moore is now up to 30 receptions, 398 yards and three end-zone trips on the season. That’s good enough for a 17-game pace of 128 grabs, 1,692 yards and 13 touchdowns.

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