The Panthers defense looks to turn things around in their week 3 matchup in Las Vegas.
After a particularly loaded week of Panthers discussion, the team will look to reset against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. While the offense will debut with a new leader at the helm in Andy Dalton at quarterback, the defense will look to bounce back from a 180 yard rushing performance by the Saints in week one, and a 219 yard rushing game by the Chargers in week 2. Let’s dive into the keys of the game!
Where’s the pass rush coming from?
The Panthers made the quietly puzzling decision to waive OLB Eku Leota this week, the team’s leading sack leader with 1 sack in two games. Last week, OLB DJ Johnson and DL Jayden Peevy combined for the Panthers only sack of the game, as well as both being credited with a QB hit (which may have come on the same play the sack happened). At the time of this writing, the Panthers have 3 OLBs on the active roster, though they may certainly choose to elevate someone from the practice squad, and even bring back Leota on the PS if he clears waivers. However, with Derrick Brown out indefinitely, DL Shy Tuttle battling an injury himself, and still waiting on the returns of OLBs Amare Barno and DJ Wonnum, this struggling pass rush needs to find itself soon in order to stop the bleeding.
Davante Adams vs Jaycee Horn
Horn gave up a disastrous touchdown on Sunday to start the game for the defense against 2nd year wide receiver Quentin Johnston, who caught another TD in the game as well. While Horn found a way to bounce back and make an interception and several key tackles, this week he has the tall task of shutting down Raiders WR1 Davante Adams. Adams already has 14 receptions for 169 yards and a TD on the season, which is decent for a WR1, but hardly the standard for a receiver of his caliber. He’s going to be looking for a bounce back game, and Jaycee Horn cannot afford to give up an easy TD to him while the Panthers offense tries to sort itself out.
Make a stop to start the game
On both of the Panthers opening drives on defense this season, the opposing offense walked down the field and quickly made it a TD lead and put the Panthers immediately behind the eight ball to start the game. While the defense improved last week after getting thoroughly throttled by the Saints in week one, the story remained the same that we came to know in 2023, as the points kept on coming after a certain amount of time and there was no getting ahead of it for the offense. While Andy Dalton is certainly accustomed to responding to other teams scoring, it would be a massive help for the Panthers offense if the defense could make a stop or even force a turnover on their first drive, to give the Panthers some positive momentum instead of playing from behind to start the game. Will it happen? I don’t know, but I sure can hope!
What would you like to see from the defense this week, Panthers fans?