In the indelible words of Philly Freeway:
“If a sneak start leaning and the heat stop workin’. Then my heat start working, I’ma rob me a person.“
The Carolina Panthers came into Sunday’s matchup needing a win against a red hot Detroit Lions team to keep their playoff hopes alive. They got that and more in their 37-23 victory, that included a record-setting performance by the offense.
From the very first snap Carolina established the ground game with a Chuba Hubbard run for 30 yards. Little did fans know, that would be the tip of the rushing iceberg as the the Panthers finished with 320 yards on the ground – the most in franchise history. But the tone for Sunday’s game didn’t start when the ball was kicked off, it was cultivated all week by interim head coach Steve Wilks, after what he called an embarrassing loss to the Steelers, and capped off by the offensive line wearing black ski masks to a team meeting during the week.
“He just made the emphasis that basically our true character is going to shine by the way we respond from last week,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “I think Wilks is a dog, (defensive coordinator) Al (Holcomb) is a dog. I feel like that dog is shining through us all.”
“You could feel it in practice with the intensity,” running back D’onta Foreman, who finished with 165 yards on the ground, said after the game. “The o-line came into one of the meetings with black ski masks. That’s when I knew that everybody is taking this personal.”
“Our guys were challenged,” Coach Wilks said. “We got embarrassed last week in so many fashions. They bounced back and showed their true character in how we practiced this week and most importantly with how we came out today and performed. Those guys up front accepted the challenge.”
There are two things that send a clear message about your intentions.
– black air forces and black ski masks. It’s the mindset that Freeway rapped about above in his song “What We Do.” It’s the dog mentality Brian Burns discussed. It’s a drive and hunger that means you will do whatever you need to do to get the job done. Last week the Panthers got punched in the mouth, this week they came with black ski mask energy and did the punching.
Postgame Notes
FRANCHISE DAY
- The Carolina Panthers set a franchise record for most rushing yards in a game with 321 yards (the previous high was 299 vs Tampa Bay on 12/8/08), and most net yards in one game with 571 yards (the previous high was 548 vs Miami
on 11/13/17).
CONTROL THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE
- In the first half, the Panthers set a franchise record for most rushing yards in tahe first half with 240 yards. The previous high was 195 yards against the Arizona Cardinals on 11/1/09.
- The Panthers’ 240 rushing yards in the first half are the most by any team this season and third most since at least 1992 behind 251 rushing yards by the Jaguars in 2006 and Bills’ 254 rushing yards in 1992.
- Three rushing touchdowns are the most in the first half by a Panthers team since 11/04/18 vs. Tampa Bay (4).
- RB Chuba Hubbard and RB D’Onta Foreman are the first teammates to rush for at least 100 yards in the first half of a game since 2006 when Jaguars’ running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew both ran for 100 against Indianapolis.
- The Panthers’ defense only allowed the Lions to rush for 45 yards. This is a season-low for any opponent they’ve faced this season. This is the fewest rushing yards for a Lions team since 10/17/21.
RUN QUARTER
- On the Panthers’ opening drive of the game, they ran the ball on every play for a total of 78 yards. All three running backs (Chuba Hubbard, D’Onta Foreman, and Raheem Blackshear) had an opportunity to rush the ball.
- RB Raheem Blackshear finished the drive scoring his third career rushing touchdown and second score in three games.
- On the opening play of the game, RB Chuba Hubbard ran for 30 yards which were a career long until he ran for 35 yards on the next play.
- The Panthers ran for a total of 103 yards in the first quarter, the 5th most rushing yards by the team in the first quarter, and most since 12/28/14 against the Falcons.
CAREER DAYS
- RB Chuba Hubbard accomplish new career-highs in rushing yards (125), yards per carry (10.4), rushing long (35), and runs of at least 20 yards (3)
- RB D’Onta Foreman ran for a career-high 165 rushing yards on 21 carries (7.9 yards per carry), and one rushing touchdown.
- Since week 7, Foreman’s 744 yards are the third most rushing yards in the league behind Josh Jacob (1,005) and Derrick Henry (989). Foreman joined Henry as the only two players in the NFL to rush for 100 yards in five games (through the early Sunday games).
- Foreman and Hubbard are the fourth pair of teammates to rush for at least 100 yards each this season, joining Jalen Hurts & Miles Sanders(PHI), Daniel Jones & Shaquon Barkley(NYG), and Taysom Hill & Alvin Kamara(NO).
2 FOR 5,000
- WR DJ Moore eclipsed 5,000 receiving yards in his career, after QB Sam Darnold connected with Moore on a 47-yard pass that was followed by a 5-yard receiving touchdown for Moore.
- Moore registered his sixth receiving touchdown of this season (career-high), and 20th of his career.
PRO BOWL BURNS
- After being named a Pro Bowl starter in back-to-back seasons this week, Brian Burns notched 2.0 sacks to give him a team-leading 12.5 sacks on the season.
STEADY EDDY
- K Eddy Piñeiro finished the game going 3-3 on field goal attempts and 11 points in total. Piñeiro has made 16 straight field goals and is 31-33 (93.9%) on the season.
- Piñeiro’s 31 field goals made are the second-most in the NFL behind K Justin Tucker (32), and 93.9% field goal percentage is second in the NFL behind K Jason Meyers (96.4%).
COLDEST HOME GAME IN PANTHERS’ HISTORY
- The temperature at kickoff was 20 degrees, making today’s game the coldest home game in franchise history.
UNC Continues to Shine into the Final Stretch