Carolina Panthers: Quarterback Kyle Allen a rising star

Carolina Panthers future rests firmly on quarterback Kyle Allen.

Who would have thought that the minute Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and the Denver Broncos Peyton Manning took the field in Super Bowl 50, they would both be playing in their last meaningful game? A bold statement, yes, but bold is what has been missing from the offense since the end of 2015.

I am not a Newton hater and bought my son a jersey over the summer hoping that it would show the football gods I still believed in him. However, in my opinion, the Los Angeles and Tampa Bay losses were a goodbye tour for Newton in Carolina. He looked as tired and worn down as I feel in the mornings when staring longingly at my coffee machine after my newborn has kept me up all night.

Kyle Allen is here to stay in Charlotte.

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Under center last Sunday, Allen provided a dynamic spark to Carolina’s offense and gave me the most entertaining football Sunday I’ve had in a long time. He got in a rhythm early, throwing bullets to tight end Greg Olsen over the middle. Connecting on similar routes where Newton missed over the past few seasons, sailing balls high over receivers’ heads.

The second quarter touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel was a thing of beauty. Allen stepped up in the pocket, avoided sacks (for the most part) and threw balls on a rope to both corners of the field. The accuracy was a lightning rod for the receiving corp. In an open field situation, I think most defenders in the NFL would be hard pressed to keep D.J. Moore or Samuel out of the end zone and Carolina finally has someone who can consistently get them the football.

What if Newton returns and the Panthers suffer through another 7-9 season? Do you really want to continually watch Newton miss open receivers and fail to move the chains drive after drive? Can you imagine what was going through Samuel’s head last Sunday when he finally realized he had a chance to consistently get the ball? I wish I was a fly on the wall in the receivers room after practice this week because morale has to be higher than it’s been in some time.

Allen now enters Houston ready to prove the tides are changing in Carolina for this season and the franchise. Against a J.J. Watt led Texans defense, my prediction is a Panthers 31-28 victory. Allen will throw for 320 yards on 23 of 31 pass attempts, adding three touchdowns to boot. His accuracy will open up the run game for Christian McCaffrey as the Panthers head back to Charlotte sitting at 2-2.

Rivera faces a decision that will determine his future in Carolina – Does he go back to a declining Newton in an effort to see if he can regain the magic or does he decide to keep betting on Allen’s hot hand?

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Ultimately, the performance of Allen will directly impact if Rivera packs up and calls his realtor or stays put in Charlotte.

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