Jason Hewitt's "Panthers of the Month"
The beginning of the 2020 NFL season has been challenging for the Carolina Panthers. At the time of this article's release, the team is 1-2 and fresh off of a 21-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. This was the first victory of the season; ideally, it was the first of many. While there are definitely areas of improvement within this team, there are certainly some positives that have been displayed from its players.
With that being said, I will be giving you my "Panthers of the Month" for each month of the 2020 season. This will be a series in which I select the best Panthers player from each of the these three areas of the game for that specific month: Offense, defense, and special teams. Without further ado, here are the three Panthers of the month for September:
Offense: WR Robby Anderson
Anderson has proven to be one of the most essential players on Joe Brady's offense. In each of the past three games, he has provided the offense with much needed sparks that continued important drives. One could even argue that Anderson has replaced D.J. Moore as the WR1 of this offense. In three games with the Panthers so far, Anderson has recorded a total of 20 receptions for 278 yards and an explosive 75-yard touchdown against the Raiders. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has nothing but praise for the turbo charged wide receiver:
"Robby has just been a true pro. He's a guy that comes in the building and you don't even know he's here because he's so quiet, he's just all about ball when he's here," Bridgewater said. "You can tell he's a guy who really loves the game. He goes out there with a chip on his shoulder, he plays angry, he plays like he's pissed off every snap and that's something that you like to see. He's a guy who desires to be great in this league and he's been doing everything that we've asked of him."
Hopefully for this offense, Anderson will continue to shine as one of Bridgewater's favorite targets.
Defense: Donte Jackson
It's quite difficult to argue against choosing a defensive back who had two interceptions in three games. Jackson is still developing into one of the better corners in this league, and this season is proving to be that next step that he needs in order to be in that tier. His interceptions against the Chargers and the Buccaneers occurred during crucial situations in which the offense needed to have the ball in its hands. Because of his playmaking abilities, he is my defensive Panther of the month.
Special Teams: Joey Slye
As clutch as J.J. Jansen's downed punt was in the Panthers' victory against the Chargers, this team would not have been close enough for that play to make as much of an impact if it weren't for Joey Slye's field goals. Despite his missed extra point during the win, Slye went 5-5 on his field goal attempts. In total, Slye has gone a perfect 9-9 on his field goal attempts this season, with a 47-yarder against the Raiders being the longest of the season so far. Slye has bailed this team out on multiple occasions over the past three weeks, and it seems likely that he will continue that if the offense continues to struggle at generating touchdowns.
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