It’s nearly time. After almost 11 years, the Carolina Panthers will host Sunday Night Football at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Panthers will don their all black uniforms and helmets to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
There is a lot at stake in this game. Not only are the Panthers trying to show the schedule-makers that they belong more on primetime, but the team is also trying to avoid the dreaded 1-3 start to the season.
In both of the previous years of Dave Canales’ tenure at Head Coach, Carolina has started 1-3. Both of those seasons resulted in losing records.
A 1-3 doesn’t necessarily mean the season is over, but it certainly doesn’t help for a team that entered the season with playoff aspirations. If Carolina wants to avoid being behind the eight ball before the bye week, a victory is much-needed.
With the stage set, let’s take a look at what the Panthers need to accomplish on Sunday in order to enter the bye week without a losing record.
Keys to Victory
1) Stay healthy
Easier said than done for this Panthers team so far, but Carolina cannot afford any more crucial injuries this early in the season. To date, the following players have already missed at least one game or are slated to miss the matchup against Detroit:
Ickey Ekwonu
Damien Lewis
Taylor Moton
Brady Christensen
Chris Brazzell II
Xavier Legette
Jonathon Brooks
Nic Scourton
Pat Jones
Bobby Brown III
Turk Wharton
Devin Lloyd
Jaycee Horn
Mike Jackson
Nick Scott
Most of these players are starters/key contributors to their positions. In order to survive not only the matchup in front of them, but the prolonged NFL season, Carolina must get through one week with a relatively clean bill of health.
2) Get the run going
Offensive Coordinator Brad Idzik has stated just how important the run game is to this offense. Still, the Panthers have not been able to have a successful run game through three weeks of NFL football.
As we saw in Cleveland, if the offense is one-dimensional, even if Bryce Young has a high-output performance in the pass game, it won’t always lead to wins.
Detroit presents a unique matchup in fielding many backups on defense. Being able to get the run game working on the outside, where reserve defensive backs will have to make tackles is one way to try and build the run to compliment the pass.
Using backs other than Chuba Hubbard is key as well. Outside of one series against the Browns, AJ Dillon didn’t see the field, even on short yardage scenarios. New practice squad callup Tre Tyus didn’t touch the ball once on offense.
Having a stable of running backs that can spell Chuba Hubbard for a few drives will allow the team captain to stay fresh and be able to work late into games as a runner.
3) Keep everything in front on defense
For perhaps the first time ever, this column is imploring Carolina to deploy the softer zone defensive coverages. With the absence of both Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn, it is imperative that Ejiro Evero help out the reserve corners with more zone looks.
Because the Lions are so potent and able to score at will, keeping everything in front and not allowing them to beat the defenders over the top is almost the only way to stay in this game.
Will Lee III and whoever is his running mate on the other side of the field have their work cut out for them. The defense can’t afford to have Lee bite on any double moves in this contest.
4) Win the shootout - don’t let up
It it apparent that Carolina’s defense, ravaged by injury, will likely give up a lot of points. Fortunately, Detroit is in the same boat - both starting safeties have been out all season, and the Lions defense is porous along the back end.
In order to win this game, Carolina will have to outscore Detroit. I know, this isn’t necessarily hidden wisdom, but the odds are that this game will be a high-scoring affair.
For Carolina to win, it is imperative to limit mistakes and score on as many drives as possible. And by score, it needs to be touchdowns, not field goals. Don’t shy away from being aggressive in moving the chains just because it didn’t work in Cleveland.
The more touchdown drives, the better.
Perhaps it’s being hopelessly optimistic as a Carolina sports writer, but the Panthers absolutely have a chance to win this contest.
Like the keys above state, scoring a ton of points will be the path to victory for Carolina in the Sunday Night Football battle of the big cats.
Being 2-2 at the bye week wouldn’t be half bad for a team sporting as many injuries as Carolina is to this point. In order to make that happen, the Panthers will have to do something they still haven’t done through three weeks - play a complete game.