The Panthers travel to New York this Thanksgiving Weekend, not for Snoopy and the parade, but to try and keep pace in the NFC South, quickly proving to be the toughest division in all of football. The 7-3 Panthers sit a game back of the New Orleans Saints and a game ahead of the Atlanta Falcons, but actually control their own destiny if their goal is a first-round bye in the playoffs; the first step is taking down the surprisingly improved New York Jets, helmed by Todd Bowles and led by 38-year old Josh McCown. Before we take a look at the matchups that matter, let’s take a look at some numbers that could make a difference on Sunday, and it’ll be more than pounds of turkey ingested by the Panthers’ offensive line.
First, a look at the offenses.
| Panthers | Statistic | Jets |
| 336.6 | Yards/Game | 306.9 |
| 5.12 | Yards/Play | 5.13 |
| 127.6 | Rushing Yards/Game | 101.6 |
| 4.18 | Rushing Yards/Play | 4.03 |
| 209 | Passing Yards/Game | 205.3 |
| 6.35 | Passing Yards/Play | 6.54 |
| 3.34% | Interception Rate | 2.55% |
| 6.99% | Sacks/Pass Attempt | 10.19% |
| 20.8 | First Downs/Game | 16.6 |
| 6.4 | Punt Return Average | 5.7 |
| 20.9 | Kickoff Return Average | 19.8 |
| 95.24% | Field Goal Percentage | 80.00% |
| 46.85% | Third Down Percentage | 37.14% |
| 33% | Fourth Down Percentage | 62.50% |
| 53.13% | Red Zone Percentage | 58% |
| 66.67% | Goal To Go Percentage | 70% |
| 33:42:00 | Average Time Of Possession | 30:13:00 |
| 21.3 | Points/Game | 20.1 |
And, of course, the Panthers specialty:
| Panthers | Statistic | Jets |
| 278 | Yards/Game | 346.9 |
| 4.99 | Yards/Play | 5.26 |
| 80.6 | Rushing Yards/Game | 117.9 |
| 3.86 | Rushing Yards/Play | 4.05 |
| 197.4 | Passing Yards/Game | 229 |
| 6.19 | Passing Yards/Play | 6.54 |
| 1.57% | Interception Rate | 2.86% |
| 9.09% | Sacks/Pass Attempt | 5.43% |
| 15.7 | First Downs/Game | 20.6 |
| 5.9 | Punt Return Average | 8.5 |
| 20.7 | Kickoff Return Average | 22.3 |
| 35.48% | Third Down Percentage | 40.14% |
| 26.67% | Fourth Down Percentage | 16.67% |
| 68.42% | Red Zone Percentage | 56.25% |
| 75.00% | Goal To Go Percentage | 80.00% |
| 18 | Points/Game | 22.2 |
The More Things Change…
- The Jets are one of only four NFL teams the Panthers have never beaten on the road; they are 3-1 against the Jets at home, including their first win in franchise history back in 1995.
- While Cam Newton has 366 more rushing yards than the quarterback across the field from him on Sunday, McCown’s 2017 stats are shockingly similar.
| Passing Yards | Passing Touchdowns | Interceptions | Completion % | Rushing Yards |
Rushing Touchdowns
|
|
| Cam Newton | 2232 | 14 | 11 | 62.1 | 436 | 4 |
| Josh McCown | 2242 | 14 | 8 | 69 | 70 | 3 |
- Graham Gano’s 95.24% field goal percentage is third-best in the league, behind the Rams’ Greg Zeurlein and the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker.
- Panthers are on pace to break three statistical records in 2017, for third down efficiency (46.9%), opponents’ net yards per game (278), and opponents’ rush yards per game (80.6).
They Rush
- The Panthers had back-to-back 200-yard rushing performances for the first time in franchise history, with the 294 yards against Miami the second-most in franchise history.
- Last week was the first time since 2009 the Panthers had two rushers with more than 90 yards, as Jonathan Stewart racked up 110 and Cam Newton had 95.
- The Panthers entered Week 9 20th in the NFL in rushing yards, and they ended their tilt with Miami in seventh. Their 595 yards in Weeks 8-10 were the tops in the NFL during that stretch.
- Jonathan Stewart is the only active NFL player to be his team’s franchise leader in rushing yards; Stewart has 7,098 yards in his career, which ranks ninth in the NFL since he entered the league. Since 2008 when they drafted Stewart, the Panthers have the most rushing yards in the league (20,711), more than 850 more than the second-most total, which is held by the New York Jets.
- Cam Newton’s 5.9 yards per carry is the second-highest in the NFL this season, behind only New Orleans’ Saints Alvin Kamara.
Just For Fun…..
- Captain Munnerlyn has only played one game against the Jets in his career, and collected two sacks and interception returned for a score.
- Carolina’s season third-down percentage of 46.9% leads the NFL and is on pace for a new franchise record, breaking the previous record of 44%.
- The Panthers have kept every team they’ve faced to under their season average in yardage in 2017. Their defense ranks second in the league in total yards per game allowed.
Table via Panthers PR
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.