Cat Scratch Reader
The players and coaches may have a 24-hour rule to soak in a victory before moving on to the next opponent, fans are not beholden to any such rule. A good thing, because the high created from a 30 to nothing smackdown on a bitter division rival deserves a few more days of enjoyment. For all the turmoil those who follow the team have suffered the last decade or so, the moments where fans can sit within a moment and savor a dominant victory are few and far between.
The first 6 quarters of the 2025 season were undeniably rough, but the next 6 quarters that followed have been a revelation of sorts as the Panthers have outscored their opponents by a whopping 42 points. A turnaround like that doesn’t just happen, so let’s take some time to celebrate the elements of the team’s drastic improvement that made the Panthers first notch in the win column possible.
Anyone who has watched more than 90 seconds of Dave Canales’ press conferences knows how seriously the coach preaches the importance of turnovers – both creating takeaways on defense and limiting giveaways on offense. Sans a poor attempt to field a punt by Trevor Etienne leading to the team’s sole turnover, the Panthers otherwise managed to string together a near perfect game in this department.
Kudos to the Panthers pass defense for snagging 2 interceptions versus a clearly dejected Michael Penix, Jr. Chau Smith-Wade’s pick-6 was the backbreaker for the Falcons and Mike Jackson’s interception on 4th down gave the Panthers 4 interceptions on the season which is nearly half the total from last year (9 in all of 2024) in just 3 games. The Panthers pass defense even came through on two other attempted 4th downs for the Falcons as both balls hit the turf for 2 turnovers on downs.
Perhaps most importantly, Bryce Young and the rest of the Panthers offense came away with a clean sheet in the turnover column after giving up multiple turnovers in each of the first two games that contributed heavily to the team’s slow starts during each contest.
Before the Falcons ran the ball 7 times for 46 yards on their final drive against the Panthers back-ups, they had been held to 85 yards on 16 carries. Still a respectable yards per carry, but holding the team with arguably the best running back in the NFL to under 100 yards rushing is a win in my book.
In fact, the Falcons might have been better served learning on the run game despite being down by multiple scores for most of the ball game. The Falcons 4.7 yards per pass attempt speaks to the poor performance of the Falcons passing attack, but also to the Panthers consistent effort to fly to the ball to bring down receivers after minimal yard after catch.
Derrick Brown’s return this season continued to set the tone while the overall improvement of Trevin Wallace...
