Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers have no game to preview this week, so we’ll instead use this space to review what they’ve done on the offensive side of the ball this season. It has been one of the most curious and unpredictable units in the entire league. They’ve had games where they look like they could hang with anyone, but they’ve had more than their fair share of total duds.
It hasn’t been linear by any means, but the offense has been generally trending up over the last few weeks. It’s been doing so in a sustainable manner as well. The offense found it’s first taste of success when Rico Dowdle took over as the starting back with Chuba Hubbard injured. He totaled over 200 yards of offense in wins over the Dolphins and Cowboys, but that isn’t a recipe for success long term against good teams. Bryce Young was getting hidden behind that run game, but he’s had a couple of really good performances in the last three weeks to provide some more balance to the offense. They reached the highest of highs with a win over the dominant Rams in the game before the buy.
The one constant in success this season has been the run game. When the Panthers have been able to get the run game going, they’ve been able to win games. Usually that’s been with Rico Dowdle, but Chuba Hubbard was the better back against the Rams on Sunday. The Panthers are eighth in the league in rush yards per game, and that’s despite a handful of blowouts that resulted in the run game being abandoned.
Tetairoa McMillan has been as good as advertised despite an underwhelming passing attack. He’s had some lapses and bad drops, but that’s not surprising for a rookie. He’s already at 826 receiving yards with four games to play, so he should pass 1,000 for the season. He’s been a better YAC threat than I think he was given credit for as a prospect, and he’s only going to get better as he gets stronger and adjusts to the physicality of the NFL.
The offensive line has been decimated by injuries, but they’ve still held up. The Panthers have had to use a different offensive line combination on an almost weekly basis, but at no point has it ever felt like the group was holding back the offense. Credit to Dan Morgan for finding depth at the position and credit to the coaching staff for having the guys ready to play in constantly changing configurations.
Bryce Young has not taken the leap that many were hoping for in his third year. The vibes are high right now after the win over the Rams and the huge game against the Falcons a couple weeks prior, but the total body of work has been underwhelming. The two games preceding each of those performances were probably Young’s two worst games of the season, so it’s not like he’s...
