Last Sunday, the Carolina Panthers were hoping to avoid an 0-2 start, when they played their home opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Unfortunately for them, they suffered a humiliating 26-3 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers. Going into this Sunday’s match at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada against the Las Vegas Raiders, (Panthers head coach) Dave Canales made his 1st big decision. He is switching quarterbacks, as Andy Dalton will start, instead of Bryce Young. This will be Dalton’s first start, since week 3 of last year, when the Panthers went to Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, & were defeated by the Seattle Seahawks, 37-27.
In his 2 starts, this season, Young has only completed 31 out of 56 passes for 245 yards, with no touchdowns & 3 interceptions. He has also been sacked 6 times. Young’s running game is also virtually non-existent, as he has only ran 5 times for 18 yards with 1 touchdown. With this type of performance, it was clear that a change needed to be made in Carolina. There is a big question to answer. Can Dalton (who is playing in his 14th NFL season) provide a spark for Carolina’s struggling offense? He is a far cry from the player that he was with the Cincinnati Bengals (from 2011-12 to 2019-20), but he has shown flashes of brilliance during his time with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, & the Panthers.
The Panthers will need Dalton to show those flashes of brilliance in a constant manner, when they play in Vegas. The Raiders are coming off a comeback win against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Now, going into their home opener, the Raiders have a chance to establish some chemistry in front of their home fans.
An interesting note about this game is that both teams haven’t had success on either side of the ball, when it comes to their run game, this season. Offensively, the Panthers (shockingly) have an advantage, as they ran for 148 yards, while the Raiders only ran for 98 yards. Defensively, the Raiders have the advantage. They only gave up 327 yards, while the Panthers have given up 399 yards. Something will most likely give, because for one team to win, one offense must run the ball effectively & one defense must stop the run game.
With these rushing offenses AND defenses the way they are, this might come down to the quarterbacks. While struggling against the Chargers in week 1 & the first half of the Ravens game, (Raiders quarterback) Gardner Minshew found his stride, during the comeback victory over the Ravens. While he has been prone to turnovers, throughout his career, Minshew (much like Dalton) has shown flashes of brilliance. Meanwhile, Dalton is the wild card of this game. This is only his 2nd start with the Panthers. Nobody knows how effective he will be this offense. While he & Canales have had a pre-season and 3 weeks of practice together, this is where everything counts. It’s appropriate that Vegas is a city known for gambling, because the Panthers are taking a big gamble with their season on Dalton. Will it pay off? We’ll find out Sunday at 4:05pm eastern (1:05 pacific) on CBS.