The Carolina Panthers turned heads around the league after beating the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. How was it that the worst team in the NFL could finally squeak out a win? Well, they didn’t have their usual young quarterback in, instead, the Panthers went with old-time veteran Andy Dalton, and boy did he perform. Quarterback Andy Dalton finally injected some life into this sluggish Panthers offense. The 14-year vet completed 26 of his 37 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
Carolina Panthers Ignite Offense In Huge Win Over The Las Vegas Raiders
Andy Dalton’s performance led Carolina to a well-rounded offensive performance. The team had 306 yards in the air and 131 yards on the ground, while also converting on five of their 12 third downs. The good performance must have also flowed through to the defense because the Panther’s defense got to Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew sacked him twice and intercepted him once. The feared Raiders defense had no answers, making Andy Dalton and the Panthers look like a top team.
“The way this game went today is exactly how you want it to go, They’re not all going to go this way, but for us to come out and do what we did, it shows they potential of what we can be.”
Said quarterback Andy Dalton via ESPN after Sunday’s win. Dalton was sharp throughout and became the first quarterback this season to post a 300-yard, three-touchdown performance. Dalton has now thrown for a total of 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns in four career starts against the Raiders.
Andy Dalton Played A Big Part But It Was A Team Effort
“I felt like the whole group in general showed up ready, This is a really serious and really focused group and somthing I’ve had to get used to because i’m so hight energy. I want things to be a party all the time. This group is like, ‘Coaches, tell us what you need and we’ll do it.'”
This is what first-year head coach Dave Canales had to say post-game after fending off several questions about how much credit Andy Dalton deserves for this win. Now back to Coach Canales’s point regarding a team effort, Chuba Hubbard rushed for 114 yards and caught five passes for 55 yards, and Diontae Johnson finally broke out for this team and had eight receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. Carolina took advantage right away, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three drives to take a 14-7 lead.
The opening drive ended a 10-game streak in which the Panthers failed to reach the end zone on their first series. It also was their first lead since they were up on the Atlanta Falcons on December 17th of last year. The Panthers continued to build on that advantage and finally ended a 20-game losing streak that dated back to week 17 in 2022 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of not leading in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers look like a completely different team without Bryce Young as QB1, and we’ll see if the Panthers continue to play like this going forward into the season. If you want more articles like this check me out at GridIronHeroics.com and to stay up to date on everything going on around the NFL check me out on X(Twitter) @Crain_Sports1
