The Carolina Panthers moved on from Matt Rhule after starting the 2022 season 1-4 and losing 11 of the last 12 games dating back to last year.
Defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks steps in as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season with plenty of coaching experience at the NFL level.
Wilks was an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach during the Panthers’ Super Bowl run in the 2015-16 season. He was promoted to Carolina’s defensive coordinator two years later before becoming the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for the 2018-19 season.
In his first game as the interim coach, Wilks and the Panthers will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. Here are four players to watch out for in Sunday’s game. Even if the current season isn’t looking great, they’ll still have something to prove
Brian Burns
Brian Burns has been dominant for the Panthers this season. He’s recorded four sacks and 11 pressures so far and will look to take advantage of a Rams offensive line that has allowed the most sacks (21) in the NFL this season.
The Pro Bowl edge rusher has a similar skill set to Micah Parsons, who lived in the Rams’ backfield a week ago. He finished the game with five tackles, four pressures, and two sacks in the road win. A lot of this falls on the Rams’ offensive tackles, who have combined to allow eight sacks in five games. Joe Noteboom’s five sacks given up is tied for the most in the NFL.
The Rams’ offensive line is not well-equipped to protect Matthew Stafford this season and the unit has yet to make any adjustments. Burns should be able to dominate his one-on-one matchups, but even if he isn’t the one to take Stafford down, his ability to win off the edge could create enough pressure for one of his teammates to get the cleanup sack.
The Rams have conceded the most pressures in the NFL (84), leading to Stafford absorbing at least five sacks in three separate games this season. It will be up to Burns to captain the Panthers’ pass rush to make it happen for the fourth time in six games.
PJ Walker
Baker Mayfield suffered a high-ankle sprain in the loss to the San Francisco 49ers, leaving PJ Walker to start at quarterback for the Panthers.
Walker is unbeaten as a starter, but offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo will need to make things as easy as possible for the quarterback making only the third start of his career. Walker defeated the Detroit Lions in 2020 and the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, but neither defense had the high-end talent of the Rams.
The Panthers’ offensive line is new and improved, but they are yet to face a defensive front like what the Rams have. Aaron Donald always finds his way to the backfield and isn’t afraid to start from anywhere across the line if he finds a weakness.
With that in mind, Walker will have to be aware of his surroundings and know when to get rid of the ball. In his two career starts, the signal-caller’s average depth of target was 6.7 and 4.1 yards downfield, respectively. The Panthers will have to adopt this same mentality in the passing game against the Rams.
This game plan bodes well for the Panthers, who have one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league. Christian McCaffrey averages 7.5 yards after the catch per reception despite his average depth of target being less than a yard beyond the line of scrimmage.
Walker can’t let the pressure get to him and needs to lean on his pass catchers as often as possible to move the ball down the field.
DJ Moore
I’ll coach for free @Panthers
My game plan is full proof:
Get CMC & DJ Moore the ball. https://t.co/AbiLzPSyPH
— Luke Sawhook
(@lukesawhook) October 10, 2022
For whatever reason, DJ Moore has not meshed with Baker Mayfield. The 25-year-old receiver is having the worst statistical season of his career, as he’s only managed 17 receptions for 197 yards through five games.
A lot of it is because Mayfield hasn’t seemed comfortable throwing the ball his way. Moore has only gotten double-digit targets once this season, when he got the same amount of attention 10 times last year. He saw no fewer than seven targets per game in 2021 but has only been thrown to that many times twice this year.
That could all change this week. In the two games PJ Walker has started, Moore has gone for 11 receptions for 151 yards on 18 targets.
For the limited reps Walker has had and how fierce the Rams’ pass rush will be, the Panthers’ offense needs to focus on getting the ball to the playmakers and letting them go to work.
The Rams have allowed the fifth-most yards to receivers this season, including 122 yards from Stefon Diggs, 140 from Marquise Brown, and 115 to Deebo Samuel. Whether it’s downfield or close to the line of scrimmage, Moore needs to be more involved in the offense for the Panthers to start winning some games.
Jaycee Horn
Jaycee Horn is
pic.twitter.com/zfescXME6z
— PFF (@PFF) October 11, 2022
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Jaycee Horn missed most of his rookie season with an injury but has come back stronger and better in year two. In five games, he’s only allowed nine receptions on 22 targets for 107 yards and zero touchdowns. He’s allowing just a 37.5 passer rating when targeted, the sixth-best among cornerbacks.
Horn is listed as questionable for the game, but if he suits up, he’ll have to line up against arguably the best receiver in the game right now in Cooper Kupp.
Kupp leads the NFL in receptions and targets and is second in yards. Of Kupp’s 527 receiving yards, 267 have come after the catch, the third most in the NFL and most among receivers. Horn, the eight-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, hasn’t given up much room after the catch, as 69 of his 107 yards allowed have come through the air.
This will be the biggest test of Horn’s young career, as Kupp has gone for over 100 yards in four out of five games this season. It’s probably impossible to completely shut down the reigning triple-crown winner, but if Horn can slow him down even a little bit, it’ll be a massive statement made from the second-year cornerback.
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