Charlotte Weather Forecast: How Panthers Could Be Impacted vs. Lions

Of course, there's rain in the forecast Sunday.

At this point, why wouldn't there be? Carolina is already missing both starting cornerbacks, the injuries on offense keep piling up, and one of the best teams in football is coming to Charlotte. Might as well add the weather to the list.

But when I actually looked at the forecast, it wasn't quite as bad as I expected. There's a chance of showers during the day, but that chance starts dropping around the 8:20 p.m. kickoff. Temperatures should be in the low-to-mid 60s, and wind shouldn't be much of an issue.

So no, we're probably not getting four quarters of football in a downpour. But if it rains most of the day and the field is still wet by kickoff, I'm starting to wonder if that's actually better for Carolina.

Maybe I'm Back on the Chuba Hubbard Thing Again

I know. I've talked about this enough already.

But Carolina has called pass plays on 67.9 percent of its snaps this season, the third-highest rate in the NFL. Bryce Young was pressured on 51 percent of his dropbacks against Cleveland, and somehow he still ended up throwing the ball 48 times.

I don't really understand that.

Now, if it's wet Sunday night, maybe this is finally the game where Carolina leans on Chuba Hubbard a little more. I'm not asking for 30 carries, and I'm definitely not saying you completely change the offense because it rained six hours earlier.

I just don't need to see Young throwing it 48 times again. Give Hubbard the ball, see if he can get something going, and maybe make Detroit deal with a game that's a little slower than it wants.

Because if this turns into Goff throwing for 350 yards and Carolina trying to keep up, I don't like the Panthers' chances.

I Don't Hate the Rain Against Detroit's Receivers

This is probably where I changed my mind about the weather.

Normally, I'd want perfect conditions. But Carolina is about to face Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown without Jaycee Horn or Mike Jackson. Will Lee III and Akayleb Evans are going to be asked to do a lot more than anybody expected a couple of weeks ago.

So would I mind a wet field slowing everybody down a little?

Not really.

Obviously, Carolina's receivers have to deal with it, too. Tetairoa McMillan isn't suddenly running around on a dry field while everybody else is slipping. But Detroit has the better offense and the healthier team, so anything that makes this game a little less normal probably helps Carolina more than it hurts.

At least that's how I'm looking at it.

Just Don't Let the Weather Beat You

This is the part I'd worry about.

If the field is wet, somebody is probably going to slip. A pass might get away from a quarterback. Maybe the ball hits the ground when it normally wouldn't.

That's fine. Just don't be the team that turns one of those plays into seven points for the other side.

Carolina has enough problems trying to beat Detroit without handing the Lions a short field because somebody couldn't hold onto the football. If the conditions aren't great, I'm perfectly fine with Bryce taking the easy throw or Carolina handing it to Hubbard instead of trying to force something.

It doesn't have to look good.

It just has to work.

Maybe Ugly Is Exactly What Carolina Needs

I don't know if the rain is going to stick around long enough to matter Sunday night. The forecast right now says there's a pretty good chance it won't.

But I'm also not sitting here hoping for perfect weather anymore. Perfect weather means Goff gets to throw the ball around against a secondary missing its two starting corners, and I'm not sure that's the game Carolina wants.

Give me a wet field. Give me Hubbard getting a few more carries. Give me one of those weird games where nobody really gets comfortable, and it's still close going into the fourth quarter.

Would I take that right now?

Absolutely.

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