Panthers PFF grades: Xavier Legette bombs, Trevin Wallace tops defense

The Carolina Panthers upset the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to move to 3-3 on the year and remain unbeaten at home. It was a stellar effort from so many players, as the offense was highly efficient and the defense got the stops it needed to against a really good offense. There were good and bad players, as evidenced by the PFF grades.

Keep in mind that these are not the only pieces of data, but they're one way to reflect on what we all saw from Sunday. Here's what we can take away from the grades.

Xavier Legette was awful again

Xavier Legette had a pretty bad Sunday, which has been the case most of the time in 2025. His first touch was a screen that wasn't set up well but he still generated a really good run after the catch. His second touch resulted in tons of lost yards because of an ill-advised lateral, and overall, the WR recorded a 45 grade, lowest on offense.

Bryce Young's best start backed by PFF

Bryce Young had his best start on Sunday and one of the best games of his career. The PFF grade finally seems to agree with what we're seeing on the field, as he earned a season-high 82.1 grade, good for fourth-best on the team. He was excellent.

Trevin Wallace continues to break out and his LB counterpart did, too

Over on the defensive side, the best player, surprisingly, was Trevin Wallace. Despite Derrick Brown seeming to have another excellent day, Wallace paced the D with a 77.2 grade. What's maybe more shocking is that Christian Rozeboom was second with a 72 grade. The switch in roles for those two has worked wonders.

Secondary struggled immensely

Your eyes could've told you the Panthers had a lot of trouble in the secondary. George Pickens was excellent, and Dak Prescott was efficient and precise. The Panthers had no answers, and we could all see that, but the PFF grades paint the picture best: Corey Thornton (48.2), Jaycee Horn (41.8), Mike Jackson (40.3), and Lathan Ransom (31.9) brought up the rear. Chau Smith-Wade (62.7) was decent on the back end.

Rico Dowdle's dominant day not quite as great as you'd expect

Sometimes, good box score numbers don't add up to good PFF grades. Sometimes, bad box score numbers show out as good PFF grades. In this case, Rico Dowdle's excellent box score resulted in a solid but not at all spectacular 67.6 grade. He was dragged down by a 6.1 pass block grade and a 40 passing grade despite leading the team in yards through the air and catching a TD. His 82 run grade was expectedly high, though.

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