The Panthers got their first win against the Cardinals on Sunday, and with the move to 1-2, they are now just a game back in the division and the conversation can turn from the scale of the rebuild needed to the chances of making the playoffs. However, this optimistic turn will be tested with a trip to Houston this coming week, as while every win is important in the NFL, if this season is going to be more than a go-between, they will need to beat teams a lot better than the Cardinals.
So how can they come back from Houston at 2-2 and with a chance to turn this season around?
The Kyle Allen Road Show Continues
Kyle Allen was really rather good against the Cardinals.
He didn’t drop any 70-yard bombs on the Cardinals’ secondary, but he consistently made accurate throws both from the pocket and on the run – and while he might have completed a couple of passes that the defender might have done better contesting, he rarely, if ever, put the ball in a position where he might have been intercepted. This was a more impressive performance than his game against the Saints last season, not only because he was playing against a team with a real incentive to win the game, but also because the nature of the performance was far more reproducible.
The key for Allen, however, is going to be to what extent he is able to reproduce it. He doesn’t need to throw four touchdowns every game – though that would be nice – but rather the composure and accuracy he showed needs to be similar going forward for the Panthers to have continued success. This will be especially relevant in games where the defense is able to put the ball in his hands at key moments in the game. The Panthers only converted 50% of their third downs passing against the Cardinals, and while this isn’t terrible, better defenses are going to push Allen’s ability to operate when everybody on the field knows that the Panthers are going to throw the ball.
While Houston has gotten off to something of a mixed start so far this season, they have the defensive talent to offer a far more legitimate challenge for Allen, and if he can be anywhere near as effective against them as he was against the Cardinals, the Panthers should feel good about their chances of actually being competitive this season, even without Cam Newton. Of course, not being everything that Sunday’s game suggested he might shouldn’t be seen as a failure for Allen, but the extent to which he regresses to a mean – and what that mean is – is something the Panthers should be keeping a close eye on on Sunday.
Getting Pressure From The Start
Spider-Burns gets to QB Kyler Murray for the sack
The Panthers got eight sacks against the Cardinals after really struggling to get pressure in their first two games of the season, but the vast majority of this pressure came later in the game as the Cardinals started having to chase the scoreboard and the Panthers were able to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback without having to worry about the run as much. They also did this against a pretty poor Cardinals offensive line, and while the Texans offensive line isn’t exactly the best in the NFL, the Panthers will need to be able to get pressure even when they don’t have a two score lead if they hope to win many games this season.
Let’s be clear, the Cardinals game showed just how effective this defense can be when it is able to get early pressure and force the quarterback to hold the ball with an effective combination of zone coverages. However, the fact that it took the Panthers until the second half to really get this clicking either speaks to a team that is finally hitting its stride or a team that needs to be better at generating a pass rush outside of obvious passing situations.
This should hopefully be aided by the return of Bruce Irvin after having missed the first three games this season. The Panthers have a lot of new faces on defense, especially on the defensive line, and there is a chance that it’s just taking some time for them to gel, but if they are unable to get pressure early again against the Texans, they might need to reconsider more fundamentally how they are trying to approach things defensively.
Up Next: KEEEEPPPP —— RUNNING
