Some may have believed, particularly after a stunning start on Sunday, that the Carolina Panthers were going to take the upset and their first win of the season in Week 6. But all they ended up taking away from South Beach was yet another defeat.
So, it’s time for you to take away some, well, takeaways from the outing. Here are our biggest observations as we move forward from the 42-21 defeat:
Bryce was nice
For the first time all season, the No. 1 overall pick really looked like the No. 1 overall pick.
Don’t pay too much mind to the the final stat line . . . although we’ll give it to you anyway: 23-of-38, 217 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions. The only number that really matters is that last one—zero.
Young showed the poise, the playmaking ability, the pocket presence, the processing and the placement we saw so many times at Alabama. His collection of polished skills resulted in two extremely impressive touchdown drives to begin the game—one of 64 yards and the other of 74—and a tight display of ball security.
But, as the case has been here in 2023, the rookie was let down by the players around him. Young had just one pass catcher over the 26-yard receiving mark (Adam Thielen, 115) and was sacked four times.
Chuba can chug
Let’s be honest—many of you may have believed running back Chuba Hubbard was just one of those JAGs Steve Smith Sr. talked about earlier this week. Well, if you did, you might be wrong.
Hubbard stepped up and stepped up big in the absence of starter Miles Sanders. The third-year rushed chugged along for a hard-earned 88 yards and a score on 19 attempts.
So now, after, six games, Hubbard is averaging a solid 4.5 yards per carry. Sanders, who the team signed to a pretty pricey four-year, $25.4 million deal this offseason, is averaging 3.1 yards a tote.
Although this probably won’t knock Sanders off his spot atop the depth chart, there was a noticeable difference and an extra serving of juice with Hubbard heading the backfield.
There's not much you can do against the Dolphins offense
Panthers fans have every right to air out some frustrations after their team handed over a 14-point lead and allowed 35 unanswered points, especially en route to an 0-6 start. But, like, what did you really expect?
The dynamic Dolphins offense, as it does to just about everyone else, turned into a buzzsaw. And just as they’ve done all season, running back Raheem Mostert and all-world wideout Tyreek Hill pulled out the explosives—with the former racking up 132 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage and the latter firing off for 163 receiving yards and a score of his own.
This, unfortunately for Carolina in what started as an exciting and encouraging day, is just the reality—Miami scores. But, hey, at least they were held to almost 90 fewer yards than their league-leading average—which is even more impressive considering how depleted the Panthers defense was coming in.
