Panthers defense is playing extremely well

The Carolina Panthers advanced to 11-0 thanks in a large part to the defense, but can the defense get better?

After going to Dallas and defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 33-14, on Thanksgiving Day, the Carolina Panthers improved to 11-0, remaining one of two, the New England Patriots are the other but have yet to play this week, in the NFL.

“Keep Pounding” seems to be the common theme all year for the defense and the Panthers in general, as big plays are made when needed.

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The defense is a major factor in this, as there have been times this year that the defense has bent, but has not broke (knock on wood).

Over the last two games, one at home against the Washington Redskins and the other on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, the defense has played extremely well.

Now the real question becomes, can the defense get better?

Nov 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Carolina Panthers free safety Kurt Coleman (20) returns an interception for touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter of an NFL game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Think of it like this, Luke Kuechly suffered a concussion in the first half of the first game of the year against the Jacksonville Jaguars, causing him to miss the rest of the game versus the Jaguars and the next three games.

Charles Johnson was injured in the game versus the New Orleans Saints, returning for the first time against the Cowboys.

That is two Pro Bowl caliber players on defense missing a significant amount of time.

Johnson did not play versus the Redskins, but the defense was amazing.  The defense gave up a record low 14 yards rushing to the Redskins.  Not only that, the defense of the Panthers gave up 172 yards passing, had five sacks and forced five turnovers.  Although the Redskins scored 16 points, the defense only surrendered seven points thanks to special teams miscues.

With Johnson back versus the Cowboys, the defense only gave up 31 yards rushing and 179 yards passing.  The defense had two sacks and forced three turnovers, two of which those turnovers were pick-sixes.

So that is 45 total rushing yards and 351 total passing yards given up the last two games, while forcing eight turnovers and getting seven sacks.

Next: When will the talk be about the Panthers?

At this rate, it appears as if the defense is improving each week.

The question becomes, as mentioned before, can the defense get better?