The Carolina Panthers try to get their offense rolling after a disastrous Week 1.
The Carolina Panthers started the Dave Canales era in the most humiliating way possible. They were blown out 47-10 due to catastrophic failures on all sides of the ball and countless individual mistakes and lapses. We’ve already subjected a people to a preview of the defense that tallied zero meaningful stops. Now it’s time for the offense to get a turn.
This week’s opponent is a Jim Harbaugh-led Los Angeles Chargers team that in theory contrasts the glitz and glamour of the city they play in. Harbaugh wants a rugged, gritty football team that runs the ball and stops the run. They’re trying to win rock fights in powder blue and yellow jerseys. In Week 1, they largely accomplished that by beating the Raiders 22-10. They limited their fellow recently relocated brethren to just 3.2 yards per carry, and no run went for longer than 12 yards. They sacked quarterback Gardner Minshew four times and forced three turnovers. If there was one fly in the ointment, it’s that they let Minshew have a relatively efficient day outside of his two turnovers.
The Panthers scored 10 points in their Week 1 loss, and the Chargers allowed 10 points in their Week 1 win. 10 points (probably) isn’t going to cut it if the Panthers want to win this game. Here’s how they make sure they score more than that.
- Utilize the short passing game to neutralize the Chargers front four. The Chargers have an intimidating defensive front with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack on the edges. The Raiders had some success with bubble screens and other quick hitters. The Panthers theoretically have guys that can make plays in those situations in Xavier Legette and Jonathan Mingo (if he holds onto the ball). Bryce Young just needs to be decisive and accurate in those situations. Any hesitation and he’ll have at least one of those two edge rushers bearing down on him.
- Protect the football. This usually goes without saying since it’s very obvious that you don’t want to give the ball to the other team, and NFL teams that turn the ball over historically don’t do well. But the Panthers did a bad enough job of it last week that it bears emphasizing this week. Young threw two interceptions on rushed passes. He needs to settle down and trust his ball placement. The Chargers have a very good safety duo that will pounce on overthrown balls. Mingo lost one fumble and almost lost a second on one of his other two touches in the game. Bosa forced a fumble with a peanut punch against the Raiders. Panthers ball carriers need to be careful with the ball.
The Chargers don’t have a very good offense. The defense should be able to keep them at bay better than they did against the Saints. The Panthers offense doesn’t need to hand them points with short fields.
- Generate explosive runs. Neither the Panthers or the last opponent of the Chargers could muster any big runs in Week 1. The Panthers offense needs to break that trend in Week 2. Young needs help from his running game to move the sticks at this point. It’s hard to do that with three yards and a cloud of dust. Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard need to find some gaps and create some big plays.