Initial Reactions Following Panthers Week 11 Win vs Lions
The Carolina Panthers entered the matchup 3-7 with starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out due to a knee injury. The Detroit Lions were 4-5 and had their own injury issues on the offensive side of the ball. Carolina got off to an early lead and never looked back. Following a dismal week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the Panthers defense completely shut out the Lions. Carolina finally brought their brutal five-game losing streak to an end winning by a final score of 20-0.
Here are our initial reactions following the Panthers' shutout victory:
P.J. Walker fits the offense
Back when the Panthers first brought in former XFL star P.J. Walker I wanted to see him in offensive coordinator Joe Brady's scheme. Brady utilizes athletic quarterbacks extremely well going back to his college play-calling days. Having a QB that can extend plays gives the wide receivers just a little bit of extra time that they need to get open down the field. We saw this time and time again from DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel. Teddy Bridgewater is the obvious starter moving forward but it was interesting to see what the Panthers' offense could look like with a true dual-threat under center. Maybe Walker's success will foreshadow what Carolina will look for at the quarterback position in the future.
The defense isn't that bad after all
The Buccaneers' offensive line absolutely bullied the Panthers' defensive line last week. It was nice to see them bounce back in a big way by completely shutting down the Detroit offense. The Lions couldn't get anything going in the running game with their rookie back D'Andre Swift unavailable with a concussion he suffered in practice. Carolina also didn't allow much in the passing game as Matthew Stafford was only able to throw for 178 yards and barely completed 50% of his attempts. This defense is an extremely young unit so the inconsistencies we see on game days are expected. It is nice to know that they have the talent to shut out an NFL offense from time to time.
The effort is encouraging
Coming into this game at 3-7 it would have been easy for the Panthers to lay an egg. Instead, the team put together arguably their most complete team win of the season. It is encouraging to see a team continue to fight even though their playoff possibilities are extremely unlikely. It shows that first-year head coach Matt Rhule has control of his locker room. Fans should be optimistic about this team moving forward. A 4-7 record might not necessarily be what they had in mind at the beginning of the year but it is definitely something to build off of.
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