Sometimes you’ve got to thug it out.
Bryce Young limped off the turf of Met Life Stadium with an ankle injury he sustained by trying to avoid what would have been his second sack of the game. Backup QB Andy Dalton struggled to manage the game against an aggessive and hungry New York Jets’ defense that’d been containing most of what the Carolina Panthers were trying to do on offense on Sunday.
This wasn’t a game as much as it was a war of attrition. The Panthers survived the Jets 13-6. They did it by the defense going ‘hit for hit’ with the Jets, coming through in the clutch, and outlasting them on offense. This was the beauty in this ugly win. The Panthers took the Jets’ best shot without folding and having the resilience to find a way to get the job done.
“We can win in all kind of ways. That’s what we were saying in the huddle at the end of it,” Rico Dowdle said. “It was an ugly, grind-out win, but a win is a win and we can win it in multiple ways.”
The Panthers (4-3) are now above .500 and in second place in the NFC South. While the vibes are at an all-time high, the Panthers are not the ones to celebrate their progression so far.
“We’re in the process right now,” Derrick Brown said after the game, “and the process doesn’t come with Victory Monday.”
Here are more observations from the Panthers’ gutsy week seven win.
Working Out The Kinks
In the weeks leading up to Chuba Hubbard’s return Panthers head coach Dave Canales had the dilemma of figuring out how to utilize Rico Dowdle, who has been sensational in these past two weeks, and a returning Hubbard in the same backfield.
On Sunday, Canales took an alternating ‘your turn my turn’ approach. The results didn’t jump off the stat sheet. Dowdle rushed for 79 yards on 14 carries, while Hubbard ran for 31 yards on 14 carries. After the game, Dowdle said he knew of the approach in the days leading up to the contest.
“We knew that we were going to rotate every series and switch out,” he said. “We got the win, so it worked.”
Neither Dowdle nor Hubbard is new to splitting reps with another back. Moving forward, I expect the pairing to develop a rhythm and become more effective and potent. The vision is there, but it will take time for this attack to evolve.
The ‘Money That Folds’ Games
Jaycee Horn had the first two-interception game in his career in week seven, when he picked off journeyman QB Tyrod Taylor to help seal the win.
The Panthers’ offense only produced 77 yards and three punts after Young was ruled out, and it was up to the defense to win it. The front seven did their damage for most of the game as they pressured and bullied both Justin Fields and Taylor into six sacks. Horn and the Panthers’ secondary were the closers.
Carolina’s secondary had the ‘change that jingles’. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero went into quarters coverage and had safety Nick Scott patrolling up top. Taylor threw near the end zone and Horn came up with the one-handed pick.
A field goal by Nick Folk brought the Jets within a touchdown and they were threatening to tie the game when Taylor made the same mistake twice. He once again threw in the direction of Horn and paid for it with another interception, as he picked off a pass intended for Josh Reynolds.
After struggling in week six, Mike Jackson also came through in the clutch by breaking up a couple of passes in crunch time.
For as much as the defense has been maligned, they are really playing well and closing games. They will be playing with confidence and ‘house money’ as the schedule gets tougher.
XL’s Huge Game
Xavier Legette finished the day with nine catches for 92 yards and the game’s lone touchdown. The second-year wideout set career highs in catches and yards after struggling for most of the season. There is always a moment where the game slows down and a player ‘gets it’ and begins to produce consistently. Legette did this against an aggressive defense regardless of where the Jets’ unit is ranked. He helped move the chains for Carolina and helped control time of possession. If Legette’s issues are a matter of scheme, this might have been the game to unlock him and the potential he has.
The Most Beautiful ‘Ugly” Win: Panthers Ground Jets