Thieves Ave + Sackstreet Boys = Four-Game Win Streak
THIEVES
After the Panthers won their fourth straight game – a 37-26 win in London over the division rival Buccaneers – Ron Rivera was asked what the difference had been for his team over the past two months. The answer was simple, succinct and almost too plain to be the answer.
“Getting the takeaways, getting to the quarterback, that’s probably the biggest difference,” said Rivera. “We hammer it home, winning the takeaway battle – that’s been big.”
The Panthers lost the takeaway battle 4-1 over the first two games but have produced 14 takeaways over the past four games – including seven in London – to vault themselves to the third-best takeaway margin (+6) in the NFL and their 54 points off of turnovers is near the top of the league. The secondary is working in concert with the pass rush, which has the most sacks (27) in the league and causes mistakes by opposing quarterbacks – which the back half has taken advantages of, to the tune of eight interceptions in the past four games, including five coming from Jameis Winston in Week 6.
Seizing opportunities instead of missing them.
“Guys caught the ball, guys knocked the ball out, guys fell on the ball,” said Luke Kuechly, who still has the fifth-most tackles in the NFL despite playing one game less than the four guys ahead of him. “One of the hardest things in the game to do is to fall on a loose ball and we did that a few times [in Week 6]. Guys caught the ball when it was thrown to them and the rush was able to make some plays as well.”
“I don’t think we’ve played a complete game yet, but I think we’ve shown in spurts what this defense is capable of.”
The resurgence of Mario Addison (6.5 sacks, 6 QB hits), the emergence of rookie Brian Burns (4.5 sacks, 11 QB hits) and the surprising big plays from 2015 first-round pick Vernon Butler (3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles) up front combined with a career high in interceptions for James Bradberry through six games, an impressive performance by Ross Cockrell in relief of Donte Jackson – who had two interceptions in his last game before sitting out the past three with a lingering groin injury – and the expected continued excellence of the linebacking corps has the Panthers defense trending upwards as they head into the middle third of the season.
Offensive Line Shuffles
The Panthers are averaging almost five yards per carry on the season, one of the five best rush games in the league by that metric, and they’ve done it as the team has shuffled multiple pieces along the offensive line. Daryl Williams started the first two games at left tackle and has now appeared to settle into the right guard slot while Trai Turner dealt with a high ankle sprain suffered in Arizona – a quality offensive lineman that can provide snaps at multiple spots is extremely valuable, especially to a team that values position flexibility like the Panthers.
“He’s the kind of guy that you’ve got to find places to play him,” Rivera said about Williams. “Right now, he’s playing right guard for us and we’ll continue to go that way until we see something different.”
Second-round rookie Greg Little, thought to be the left tackle of the future, started Week 4 at Houston to rave reviews but re-entered the concussion protocol soon after, giving way to sixth-round pick Dennis Daley, who has played well in his two starts. The Panthers hope to have Turner and Little back soon, but the depth they’ve shown on the offensive line has been not only impressive, but necessary.
“They’ve got a bit of a workout coming up and we’ll get an opportunity to see where some of the guys are coming off some of the nicks that we had last week,” said Rivera. “Hoping to see Trai move around a little bit more than he has done in the past – it’s been tough on him.”
Saints Keep Marching In
While the Panthers have won four straight with a backup quarterback, a similar storyline has been developing in New Orleans, where the Saints have won five games with Teddy Bridgewater at the helm as Drew Brees recovers from thumb surgery. While Brees’ timeline to return appears to be as in flux as Newton’s – it has been reported that he may be back as soon as Week 8 but it could be longer – the Saints have made it hard for the Panthers to keep pace, even as Carolina has surged to the longest road winning streak in the NFL dating back to last season with four consecutive wins away from Bank of America Stadium.
“I’ll say this team knows how to survive, and that’s what it’s all about, having those survival skills,” Bridgewater said after his team beat the Bears in Week 7 without star running back Alvin Kamara. “We do a great job just being able to step right in if we have to and try to fill voids. But it was an overall team effort today and I’m glad we came up with the win.”
The Saints lead the NFC South at 6-1 and it already appears that the matchups with the Panthers, one in late November and the home finale for Carolina in Week 17, will have not only playoff implications, but could decide the division.
Bring it on.
