What. A. Win.
As the Carolina Panthers entered the locker room after Sunday’s win, a small group of fans erupted in a chant of “Keep Pounding” within the Las Vegas stadium. What a show!
In week 3 of the regular season, the Carolina Panthers made a statement by defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 36-22. Viewed as underdogs both in the league and across the country, the Panthers surprised many fans with their impressive performance.
This past week, Dave Canales (or perhaps some higher authority) decided to bench Bryce Young, the overall number one pick from the 2023 draft. The reaction across the league was fierce, with many criticizing the organization following that huge announcement. Looking back, was this ultimately the right call?
The Carolina Panthers have Playmakers!
Looking back to the offseason, Dan Morgan emphasized that the goal was to make other teams fear our logo again. Sunday signifies one step towards achieving that goal.
Dan Morgan brought in Robert Hunt, Dionte Johnson, Mike Jackson, and the Rookie Xavier Legette. Additionally, Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, and the rest of the line gave Andy Dalton the protection he needed, allowing him to rack up 319 passing yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Chuba Hubbard- 114 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards, 1 TD (his all-time best)
Dionte Johnson- 122 receiving yards, 1 TD (his best career reception performance)
Adam Thielen with 40 yards and a TD and flashes of what’s to come from Xavier Legette
Mike Jackson with one interception and 9 tackles (his career high in total tackles since 2019)
“Andy is our quarterback”.
The world took notice when the Carolina Panthers made a bold decision after their week 2 loss to the Chargers. On Monday morning, Coach Canales stepped up to the press podium to announce that quarterback Bryce Young would be benched in favor of backup Andy Dalton. Canales stated, “We believe Andy gives us the best chance to win.” After this week’s victory against the Raiders, he reaffirmed, “Andy’s our quarterback. He gives us the best chance to win.”
Whether the decision came from Canales or Tepper—which many are speculating—this might be one of the best moves the organization has made to date! Andy Dalton led the same offense that struggled under Bryce to score on 7 out of 11 drives. While I expected some improvement from last week, I don’t think many anticipated such a dramatic turnaround. It’s encouraging to realize that not every player on the team is struggling and that the new front office is making solid moves. Will this momentum carry through the season? One can only hope. What’s clear is that this shift has allowed for a better evaluation of the entire roster. Andy was able to move the offense effectively, and the defense fed off that energy, leading to the strong performance we saw on Sunday.
Dave Canales was hired to win–first and foremost–and change the culture!
Where do we go from here?
In my first article, I posed the question: with all the upgrades to the O-line, is it time for Bryce to step up? He himself admitted, “Every snap hit my hands, and I didn’t do enough with it.” I believe this is the best situation for Bryce, but that’s easy for me to say since I’m not in his shoes. Rookies today are often thrust into the spotlight and expected to save struggling franchises, which isn’t fair. Bryce needs more time to develop, and I think being behind Andy Dalton is the ideal setup for him. It's important to remember that we don't need to tear down Bryce in order to build up Andy.
The next two opponents are the Bengals and the Bears. One is where Andy Dalton began his career and played for nine years, while the other was where he had a brief one-year stint. Both games are set to be revenge matches for Andy and a chance for the Panthers to continue to prove themselves.
Photos: Carolina Panthers
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