CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers held on against the Houston Texans to go 2-0 on the season, which sits firmly on the broad shoulders of Cam Newton. The running game looked strong as Newton tacked on 76 yards and a stylish flip into the end zone for six points.
Newton appears to have become an improved pocket passer. He is hitting his targets and putting the ball on the money in almost all of his throws. His overthrowing tendency may not be fully gone, but his throwing accuracy certainly has improved, as showcased by the dime he dropped to Ted Ginn for a 25-yard touchdown. Despite not having many weapons at wide receiver, Newton did a great job of distributing the ball by hitting 7 different players.
The offensive line played better than expected. Superstar J.J. Watt only earned one sack and the Texans only recorded two in total. The o-line also opened up holes for Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert.
Greg Olsen was dependable as usual with 6 catches for 70 yards. However, the story of the offense was the play-option running game. The Texans couldnβt figure out how to stop Carolina on the ground. The Panthers rushed for an impressive 172 yards, while the Texans only managed to run for 62 yards.
One thing the Panthers need to improve on is minimizing penalties. Ten penalties for 92 yards is unacceptable for any team in the NFL and the Panthers are lucky that those mistakes didn’t dictate the winner of the game.
The Panthers open the season with their easiest stretch of games as their schedule certainly gets tougher after their week 5 bye. The Panthers would be in a good position if they could pull off four wins before taking on the Seahawks, Eagles, Colts, and Packers. Carolina is likely to be the underdog in every game except possibly the Eagles.
Although the season is still early, the next two games could be critical for the Panthersβ playoff plans. A home game next week against the Saints and then a trip to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers are both very important division games that the Panthers cannot afford to lose, given their menacing stretch of games that proceed.
The Panthers donβt look perfect by any means. However, you have to hand it to coach Ron Rivera, the team plays smart and knows how to win football games. After losing 6 straight regular season games last year, the Panthers have turned it around and won their last 6 regular season games.
The Panthers need to cut down the penalties, continue improving the passing game, and minimize costly turnovers and they should have the ingredients of a playoff team. However, I am still waiting to see how the fare against a formidable NFL team. We will probably not know exactly how good of a team Carolina is until October 18th when they head to Seattle.
