The Panthers finally made a change at quarterback this week. They’ll be starting third-round pick Will Grier instead of Kyle Allen against the Colts.

A lot goes into winning any football game, but as the team has been reminded of during this six-game losing streak, it’s extremely difficult to compete in the NFL when your QB isn’t performing well. With that in mind, here are three keys to the game for Grier’s first career start.

1. Avoid Kyle Allen’s mistakes

Ultimately, the biggest reason why Grier is starting today over Allen is the latter’s inability to avoid giving the ball away. During his 12-game run as a starter, Allen threw 15 interceptions and fumbled 13 times. If nothing else, Grier has to do a better job with ball security and not make the same kinds of unforced errors that plagued Allen. Another frustrating part of Allen’s run was his tendency to see ghosts. While his offensive line didn’t do him any favors, too often Allen anticipated pressure that wasn’t there and wound up running into sacks. Hopefully Grier shows more poise in the pocket.

2. Trust Christian McCaffrey

There’s not much to like about Carolina’s pass protection these days, but one thing Grier can’t complain about is not having any weapons at the skill positions. His best one is Christian McCaffrey, who is the best pass-catching running back in the league by far. Grier needs to make good use of McCaffrey as a check-down option and trust him to make special plays in space.

3. Be Will Grier

That said, Grier can’t go into this game planning to play conservative. He has to do the same things that made him successful at West Virginia, especially airing the ball out. This has been a sore spot for the offense for four years running, so anything Grier offers will be welcome. The big question will be if he can hit Curtis Samuel on the longer-developing routes that Allen struggled with so much.

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