Bengals vs. Panthers Week Four Takeaways
The Cincinnati Bengals came to Bank of America Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers, securing a much-needed win on the road. The Panthers will have to scratch and claw to compete in a competent NFC South. However, they look far more competent than they did with Bryce Young at the helm. Both the Bengals and Panthers sit at 1-3 and each team will have to keep making strides to salvage their seasons.
Panthers’ Offense Continues Success Under Dalton
After a dominant Week Three performance against the Raiders, it remained to be seen if the offense’s excellent performance was a flash in the pan or a serious threat to NFL defenses. Andy Dalton and Co. proved that their production wasn’t a fluke, producing 375 yards of offense in their two-score loss. Without Adam Thielen, first-round rookie Xavier Legette stepped up to fill his role. Legette caught six balls for 66 yards and scored his first career touchdown. Legette and Diontae Johnson contributed to 149 of Dalton’s 220 passing yards and both passing touchdowns. Carolina’s ground game also excelled with both Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders averaging over five yards per carry. Hubbard toted the ball 18 times for 104 yards and a score, including a 38-yard run that preceded the team’s third touchdown.
Bengals Find Balanced Attack in Victory
The Bengals’ ability to run and throw the ball efficiently contributed to their win in this contest. Cincinnati attempted as many rushes as passes, having 4.5 yards per carry coupled with 7.5 yards per pass attempt. This was also the first week where the Bengals leaned into second-year tailback Chase Brown. Brown ran the ball 15 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns; all career-highs. Zack Moss and Brown combined for 36 touches for 170 yards and three touchdowns, making it easy for Joe Burrow to slice and dice the defense through the air. Ja’Marr Chase caught a pass that traveled less than 15 yards in the air and took it all the way to the endzone for a 63-yard touchdown, his longest reception of the season.
Burrow Quickly Becoming Dark Horse MVP Candidate
Despite starting off 0-3, Burrow hasn’t been the real issue for the Bengals so far. In this victory, Burrow posted his third consecutive game with a 100+ passer rating and just threw his first interception of the season, giving him a touchdown-interception ratio of seven-to-one. Though Sam Darnold has looked like the MVP until now, Burrow has been very reliable. Burrow is the only quarterback who’s top-five in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, and passer rating. According to FanDuel, Burrow is +2000 to win NFL MVP, putting him at the seventh-highest odds, behind Brock Purdy and Darnold but ahead of Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts. Next week should be a good litmus test to determine if MVP talks heighten with Burrow as he takes on divisional rival Baltimore Ravens, who just shut down a very explosive Buffalo Bills offense on Sunday Night Football.
Panthers’ Defense Still Struggling
While the Carolina offense has been improving, their defense has unfortunately stayed the same. The defense looks like a bottom-five group in the league, giving up a lot of yards and not pressuring offenses. After last week, the rushing defense appeared to be turning around, giving up just 37 yards on 13 combined carries from Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. They regressed this week, giving up 141 rushing yards and two scores, bringing them to 595 yards and six touchdowns allowed on the ground this season, both the fourth-most in the NFL. They’re not much better at defending the pass either, allowing the second-most touchdowns, fifth-highest passer rating, and seventh-highest completion percentage. Their pass rush has been abysmal too; their five sacks are the second-fewest in the league. The defense will have to prove that Week Three wasn’t an outlier as they get ready to play the Caleb Williams-led Bears next week. The defense will look to have a field day against Williams, who’s been sacked 16 times and scored three touchdowns with five turnovers this season.
