We learned on Sunday, that even in the face of “tank” and “fire sale” talks, that these Carolina Panthers don’t care about 2023. They care about the day.
So, let’s take a look at what else we learned on this day—a shocking afternoon that resulted in a 21-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We have ourselves an offensive line, folks
Former head coach Matt Rhule once compared the building of the team’s offensive line to the construction of Interstate 85. And after years and years of work, a project that plagued the franchise even before Rhule’s hiring, the Panthers finally have themselves a functioning trench.
That was more evident than ever on Sunday, when the group fended off one of the league’s most talented defenses. Carolina’s line opened up passing pockets and running lanes consistently—allowing just one sack of quarterback PJ Walker and boosting the ground game towards 173 yards.
What’s even more impressive is that they did it with a new starter at center, Bradley Bozeman. With Pat Elflein out due to a hip injury, the free-agent signing filled in admirably and showed this group possesses some solid depth and chemistry—two things they were severely lacking for quite some time.
No Christian, no problem
In a surprising and sudden move, the Panthers traded running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers less than three days before this game. Then, in another surprising and sudden move, backups D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard stepped up tremendously in said game.
Foreman took the lion’s share of the carries, turning 15 attempts into 118 yards. The bulk of that output came on a 60-yard romp in the third quarter, one that set Hubbard up for a 17-yard touchdown run on the very next play.
Along with that score, Hubbard posted a final line of 63 yards on nine tries while reeling in two receptions for 10 more yards. The duo, in the first post-McCaffrey outing for Carolina, combined to hit 181 rushing yards against what was one of the NFL’s strongest run defenses.
Can PJ Walker be trusted?
Walker isn’t the most reliable quarterback on the roster. That was obvious in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo put him on a leash that kept him to zero completions past the line of scrimmage.
But the leash came off in this one, as he connected on 17 of his 22 throws for 177 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. And, hey, six of Walker’s 17 completions went beyond the line of scrimmage this time. Six!
After the game, interim head coach Steve Wilks indicated that Walker may very well get the start again next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. With both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold possibly returning from high-ankle sprains, we’ll see if that remains the case throughout the week.
