Andy Dalton Revenge Game #1 could get ugly quickly if the Panthers defense cannot build on its week 3 performance against the Raiders.
After a really nice all around performance against the Raiders last week, the Panthers defense faces a major challenge this week. While the Bengals defense has been their biggest problem, the offense still poses a major threat to the Panthers beat up and thin defensive group. The other factor this week is they’ll be facing a pissed off Bengals offense that really needs to win in order to keep any playoff hopes alive in the AFC North, as an 0-4 record would be a steep hill to climb in a division with the Steelers playing some winning football and a Ravens team that shouldn’t be 1-2 at this juncture. Let’s dive in.
CB Mike Jackson has a tall order ahead of him
Over the first few weeks of the season, one thing has become clear about the Panthers secondary: teams are not throwing at Jaycee Horn, and for good reason. When healthy, Jaycee Horn is one of the most complete cornerbacks in the league. He’s tall, he’s fast, he has length, he has ball skills, if Horn didn’t suffer all the injuries he’s had to deal with, I firmly believe he’d be in the conversation for one of the top 5 in the league. This season, teams haven’t really had to look his way too often, as per PFF, Jaycee Horn’s 8 targets against tie for 76th highest in the league. On the other end, his starting counterpart Mike Jackson, acquired via trade from Seattle late in the preseason, has been targeted 27 times, tied for 1st (!) in the league. We saw it last week against the Raiders, teams are more than comfortable challenging Jackson. And for the most part, he has held up. Sure, there’s been a TD or two given up, but I’ve seen more positive than negative from Jackson as a whole. That could change this week, as on any given snap he will be seeing either Jamarr Chase or Tee Higgins, both WR1 caliber players. I expect the Bengals to target this matchup quite a bit, and how Evero schemes the defense up as a result will be a major factor in how the defense performs.
Build on last week’s rush defense performance
The first two weeks of the season, the Panthers defense got torched by the rushing games of the Saints and Chargers, both in the top 10 in rushing yards per game via TeamRankings.com. Last week, they got the benefit of facing the league’s worst rush offense by a wide margin, as the Raiders have only averaged 51 yards per game, easily the worst in the league. The next worse was Chicago, with 72.7 rushing yards per game. This week’s task is slightly more difficult, but still a good matchup for the Panthers weakness. The Bengals rank 28th in the league through 3 games with 89.3 rushing yards per game. While the focal point of this offense will always be Joe Burrow and that vaunted group of pass catchers, the Panthers defense has had its worst games against offenses that run the ball well since the start of 2023. This retooled Panthers front without Derrick Brown will need to build on last week’s dominant performance, as making the Bengals one dimensional will at least help this bad matchup for the Panthers secondary.
Safety could be a problem
The Panthers placed starting safety Jordan Fuller on injured/reserve this week, promoting Panthers preseason darling UDFA Demani Richardson from the practice squad to back up Nick Scott, who should slide right in to the void left by Fuller. While Nick Scott should be a solid starter replacement for Fuller as one of Evero’s guys from seasons’ passed, he is currently banged up with a quad injury that kept him limited at practice on Wednesday. With Sam Franklin also on IR, the Panthers only backup options at safety are 2023 5th round pick Jammie Robinson, the aforementioned Richardson, and another practice squad promotion in Russ Yeast for the active roster, with Alex Cook returning to the practice squad and could see himself as a game day elevation. The Panthers are one minor injury away from starting guys who might not have even made the roster on stronger NFL defenses. While I loved what I saw from Richardson and Alex Cook in the offseason, and still have hope for Robinson, this is not an ideal situation. This is something to monitor, as Evero will need to get creative with the secondary, both in this game and going forward.
What are you looking for this game from the defense, Panthers fans?