The Carolina Panthers fell apart in spectacular fashion after a shocking 30-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. It didn’t look that way in the beginning. Bryce Young and company got the ball first and took it 76 yards on just seven plays to open the scoring. That was the peak of the afternoon. Here is how the subsequent drives went:
- Punt
- Punt
- Missed field goal
- Punt
- Punt
- Downs
- Punt
- Downs
The Panthers finally scored their second touchdown in garbage time with Andy Dalton leading the charge. Outside of the touchdown drives that bookended the game, the Panthers gained 159 yards and picked up 11 first downs on 45 plays. It was about as anemic as an offense can look, and it came against a Patriots defense that had been vulnerable in the first three weeks. The return of Christian Gonzalez, their best defender, certainly helped, but it was still an inexcusable showing for a unit that’s supposed to be okay at least.
Up next is a Miami Dolphins defense that ranks 32nd in the league in Defensive DVOA. They’re coming off a win over the New York Jets, but they allowed a toothless Jets offense to average over seven yards per play. This should be a bounce back for the offense. There are a few things that can make sure that happens.
- Play clean football, don’t turn the ball over. The Jets lost their game to the Dolphins more than the Dolphins won it. Miami recovered three turnovers and were the beneficiaries of a number of pre-snap penalties by the Jets offense. Those turnovers and penalties were the only thing that slowed down the Jets offense, because the Dolphins certainly weren’t offering up much resistance. Bryce Young seems to either take pristine care of the football or commit multiple turnovers in a game with no in between. Every game needs to be the former, but that’s especially true when that’s seemingly the only way to hold yourself back from moving the ball with ease against a very porous defense.
- Pound the rock. I’m normally not one to overly emphasize the ground game, but this is an exception to that. The Dolphins have allowed 5.1 yards per rush on the season, which is fourth worst in the league, and it’s gotten worse week over week since the start of the season. James Cook averaged 5.7 yards per carry against this defense in Week 2 and Breece Hall averaged 5.8. Quarterbacks have rushed for four touchdowns in four games against the Jets. There should be space to run for whoever has the ball in their hands. With the Panthers struggling to get the passing game off the ground, this is the perfect week to lean on Chuba Hubbard and the run game.
- Feed off the home crowd or home stadium or whatever it is that makes them play better. The Panthers have always had a bit of a...
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