Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Many eyes will be on the team’s young QBs, but Sunday’s battle between the Panthers and Packers may be decided out of the backfield.
How can the Carolina Panthers avoid getting squeezed by the big cheese on Sunday?
Here are the key matchups that could help decide Week 16’s clash with the Green Bay Packers:
Panthers DT DeShawn Williams was out of practice on Wednesday due to a knee injury.
The Carolina Panthers held out four players from practice on Wednesday.
One of those absentees was defensive lineman DeShawn Williams, who was listed with a knee injury. Williams, who has recorded 24 combined tackles and a sack, has played in all 12 games for Carolina this season.
Also out was the veteran trio of wide receiver Adam Thielen, right tackle Taylor Moton and cornerback Troy Hill. All received rest days for the afternoon.
Here’s the first official injury report for the team’s Week 14 matchup against the New Orleans Saints:
| Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game status | |
| CB Troy Hill | Rest/ankle | DNP | |||
| OT Taylor Moton | Rest/knee | DNP | |||
| WR Adam Thielen | Rest | DNP | |||
| DT DeShawn Williams | Knee | DNP | |||
| S Vonn Bell | Shoulder | Limited | |||
| C Bradley Bozeman | Ankle | Limited | |||
| S Jeremy Chinn | Quadriceps | Limited | |||
| OLB Yetur Gross-Matos | Hamstring | Limited | |||
| OLB Marquis Haynes Sr. | Back | Limited | |||
| CB Jaycee Horn | Hamstring | Limited | |||
| TE Hayden Hurst | Concussion | Limited | |||
| TE Stephen Sullivan | Shoulder | Limited | |||
| TE Tommy Tremble | Hip | Limited | |||
| OLB Amaré Barno | Ankle | Full |
[lawrence-related id=686746,686733,686730]
Bryce Young was among the 10 players listed on the Panthers’ initial Week 10 injury report.
10 Carolina Panthers landed on the initial injury report for Week 12—and their starting quarterback was one of them.
2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, for the second straight week, has popped up with a thigh injury. But, luckily for the Panthers, he was still a full participant for Wednesday’s practice.
He was not, however, joined by a trio of players—including tight end Hayden Hurst. Hurst, who missed this past Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, remains in concussion protocol.
Wide receiver Adam Thielen and starting right tackle Taylor Moton were also held out for rest.
Here’s the full injury report from the afternoon:
| Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game status | |
| TE Hayden Hurst | Concussion | DNP | |||
| OT Taylor Moton | Rest/knee | DNP | |||
| WR Adam Thielen | Rest | DNP | |||
| S Jeremy Chinn | Quadriceps | Limited | |||
| S Sam Franklin Jr. | Quadriceps | Limited | |||
| OLB Marquis Haynes Sr. | Back | Limited | |||
| CB CJ Henderson | Concussion | Limited | |||
| CB Jaycee Horn | Hamstring | Limited | |||
| LB Frankie Luvu | Shoulder | Limited | |||
| QB Bryce Young | Thigh | Full |
[lawrence-related id=685691,685674,685655]
Panthers CB Troy Hill earned his team’s highest PFF grade of Week 11.
How did the Carolina Panthers grade out in their ninth loss of the season?
Here are the best and worst Pro Football Focus marks from the 33-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys:
CB Donte Jackson recorded the Panthers’ highest single-game PFF grade of the season in Thursday night’s loss to the Bears.
Is there a bright side to the Carolina Panthers’ most embarrassing loss of the season? Well, if you’re into Pro Football Focus grades, especially for cornerbacks, then you’ll find some much-needed sunshine today.
Here are the team’s best and worst marks from the 16-13 defeat to the Chicago Bears:
Thursday’s injury report came out a bit cleaner for the Panthers.
As expected, the Carolina Panthers’ injury report from Thursday looked a lot cleaner than the one from Wednesday.
After holding out eight players from yesterday’s session, the Panthers got a handful of their men back this afternoon—including wideout DJ Chark, tight end Hayden Hurst, right tackle Taylor Moton and cornerback Troy Hill.
Among those still out were were receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who sustained an ankle injury against the Miami Dolphins in Week 6, and outside linebacker Justin Houston, who is dealing with a hamstring issue.
Here is Thursday’s injury report in full:
| Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game status | |
| WR DJ Chark | Elbow | DNP | Limited | ||
| LB Clauin Cherelus | Knee | DNP | DNP | ||
| CB Troy Hill | Illness | DNP | Full | ||
| OLB Justin Houston | Hamstring | DNP | DNP | ||
| TE Hayden Hurst | Illness | DNP | Full | ||
| OT Taylor Moton | Knee/rest | DNP | Limited | ||
| WR Laviska Shenault Jr. | Ankle | DNP | DNP | ||
| WR Adam Thielen | Rest | DNP | – | ||
| S Vonn Bell | Quadriceps | Limited | Limited | ||
| OLB Brian Burns | Elbow | Limited | Limited | ||
| G Austin Corbett | Knee | Limited | Limited | ||
| LB Frankie Luvu | Hip | Limited | Limited | ||
| LB Chandler Wooten | Hamstring | Limited | Limited | ||
| RB Raheem Blackshear | Groin | Limited | Full | ||
| S Xavier Woods | Abdomen | – | Limited | ||
| G Cade Mays | Ankle | – | Full |
[lawrence-related id=684244,684241,684237]
Panthers OLB Brian Burns (elbow) was a limited participant at Thursday’s practice.
Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns probably isn’t going anywhere by the time the trade deadline passes on Tuesday. So until then, the only status in question may be the one for Sunday’s matchup against the Houston Texans.
The two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher was added to the team’s Week 8 injury report on Thursday. Burns, who leads the Panthers in sacks (4.0), was listed as a limited participant for this afternoon’s practice session with an elbow injury.
Additionally, safety Vonn Bell and wideout Laviska Shenault Jr. both missed a second consecutive outing. Starting right tackle Taylor Moton was also held out on a rest day.
Here is the entire report from Thursday:
| Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game status | |
| S Vonn Bell | Quadriceps | DNP | DNP | ||
| WR Laviska Shenault Jr. | Ankle | DNP | DNP | ||
| TE Stephen Sullivan | Illness | DNP | Full | ||
| G Austin Corbett | Knee | Limited | Limited | ||
| LB Frankie Luvu | Hip | Limited | Limited | ||
| OT Taylor Moton | Knee/rest | Limited | DNP | ||
| S Xavier Woods | Hamstring | Limited | Limited | ||
| RB Miles Sanders | Shoulder | Full | Full | ||
| G Calvin Throckmorton | Calf | Full | Full | ||
| G Chandler Zavala | Neck | Full | Full | ||
| WR Adam Thielen | Rest | DNP | – | ||
| OLB Brian Burns | Elbow | – | Limited |
[lawrence-related id=683751,683748,683684]
Per PFF, Panthers RT Taylor Moton has played the most snaps of any offensive lineman this season without relinquishing a sack or a QB hit.
Even Taylor Moton’s worst outing of the season couldn’t knock him off of what’s become a rather impressive streak.
The Carolina Panthers starting right tackle was highlighted for his pass-protecting efforts by Pro Football Focus on Tuesday. Per the site’s evaluations, Moton has played the most snaps of any NFL offensive lineman thus far without having relinquished a sack or a quarterback hit.
Moton has manned the front for each and every offensive snap the Panthers have taken this season. Of those 359 looks, 248 of them have come in pass-blocking opportunities.
Per PFF, the 29-year-old has allowed 18 pressures on the campaign—all of which are registered as hurries. He’s currently down with an overall offensive grade of 62.8 and a pass-blocking grade of 65.1.
Unfortunately for Moton and the Panthers, those marks stand as the lowest of the hog molly’s seven-year career. Those numbers weren’t helped by his outing this past Sunday in Detroit either, where PFF saddled him with the second-lowest offensive grade on the team (52.1).
Nonetheless, Moton has still proved to be an iron man for Carolina—through the very thick and the very thin.
[lawrence-related id=682894,679047,674951]
Through five games, Adam Thielen now has four top-two finishes in offensive PFF grading for the Panthers.
It’s difficult to highlight the positive amongst all the negative that the Carolina Panthers have experienced this season—and it definitely didn’t get much easier after Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions. But if you’re strictly an Adam Thielen fan, then welcome back to the party!
In what’s almost become a weekly celebration of the 33-year-old wideout, let’s take a look at the best and worst Pro Football Focus grades for the Panthers from Week 5:
Can Panthers WR Adam Thielen find the end zone against the Lions for a second time this year? He won’t have standout rookie Brian Branch there to stop him.
The Detroit Lions are a tough matchup for any team, let alone the 0-4 Carolina Panthers. Nonetheless, it’s happening for these struggling cats on Sunday—and they’ll have to figure out ways to chop this growing juggernaut down.
Here are four key matchups within the matchup that will help the Panthers do exactly that:
