The Carolina Panthers defensive line did their job for the most part last week against the New England Patriots, putting just enough pressure on quarterback Tom Brady to force him to either hear footsteps and throw inaccurately at times, including a deep ball to a wide-open Dwayne Allen that Brady underthrew by at least a dozen yards and a sluggo route that Brandin Cooks found himself with separation on during the Patriots’ first drive that Brady flat-out missed. While you are never going to stop Tom Brady completely, the pressure applied by the front four was enough to push Brady out of his spot and get him out of his rhythm, Julius Peppers in particular continues his fountain-of-youth tour on 2017 with two more sacks, including making James White and Marcus Cannon look silly at one point; the defensive line combined for three sacks, seven hits on the quarterback and four tackles for loss in the run game.
Peppers sack again! pic.twitter.com/G3JEtQFc3w
— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) October 1, 2017
The Panthers will need another effort like that to keep Matthew Stafford feeling the same way after Stafford has only thrown one interception to begin the season and is playing behind an offensive line that has struggled at times, having given up twelve sacks thus far this season, including six last week.
The Lions only return one starter from an offensive line group that was only able to produce the third-fewest rushing yards in the NFL last season, center Travis Swanson. While Swanson can have trouble against strong, athletic defensive tackles, he can anchor himself well and defend against the bull rush or swim move without allowing his man to get by him. However, and this is where Star Lotulelei and Kyle Love in particular excel is in pushing their man back into the backfield to compress the pocket; they should be able to get push if matched up one-on-one to keep Stafford on his toes as the defensive ends come around the edge. Much like Tyler Larsen, Swanson leans on his guards for help much of the time, and the bruisers up front must win this matchup when they’re matched up one-on-one. This will also be important to hold the Lions running game in check, last week Ameer Abdullah averaged 4.7 yards per carry against a good Vikings front four.
On the left side of the line, the Panthers should have an advantage with their right end rotation of Julius Peppers and Charles Johnson, who have been splitting the snaps almost equally through the first quarter of the season; the Panthers have the advantage most weeks, but left tackle Greg Robinson has struggled with his footwork throughout his career, and the speed and agility of Peppers combined with the raw power of Johnson should give him fits all day.
Photo: Leon Halip/Getty Images
Left guard Graham Glasgow, who beat out Laken Tomlinson for the starting spot and has not relinquished it yet, is a competent blocker until he has to get into space where he struggles finding his man and finishing blocks on guard pulls to the right side of the line. On the other side of center Swanson is T.J. Lang, one of the best guards in the game whom they signed away from the Packers. After having offseason hip surgery, Lang has proven to be the player the Lions thought they were getting when they signed him to replace longtime starter Larry Warford. Lang, along with Rick Wagner, have provided overall good protection on the right side of the line; runs that have gone to the right side for the Lions have been far more successful than those to the left.
While the left side of the line has struggled more than the right, the Lions offensive line overall was playing well this season before they were eaten up in the Week 4 matchup against the Vikings, who focused on keeping Stafford in the pocket and collapsing on him instead of allowing him lanes to escape and use his legs to produce yardage. The defense was able to produce six sacks, nine tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits in limiting the Lions to only 14 points; a performance like that by the Carolina Panthers should be enough to produce a victory on Sunday.
