Three Carolina Panthers to watch: Houston Texans

Coming off of a promising first win of the season in Arizona, the Carolina Panthers head to Houston seeking to put together their first winning streak in almost a year.

The Carolina Panthers looked good on Sunday. It was one of those days where, offense, defense, special teams, coaching, and execution all came together. It didn’t hurt to field a fully healthy quarterback either.

For the first time in what seems like ages, the Panthers have momentum and a spark of hope. If Kyle Allen is able to at least continue to play the game manager role, the offense has the talent to succeed. The defense, with what looks to be a dominant pass rush, looks as good as its been since the 2015 Super Bowl run. Under the radar and consistently through the first quarter of 2019, this Panthers special teams unit may be the best in franchise history. This team, under the guidance of a healthy signal caller, has the capability of pushing for a playoff spot, if not the NFC South crown in a banged up division.

This will all mean nothing if the Panthers don’t make a statement in Houston on Sunday. I’ll be at the game behind the Panthers sideline, and here’s who I’ll be watching closely.

S Eric Reid

Safety Eric Reid is a thumper on the back end. He’s had a strong start to the 2019 season, making some splash plays in the pass and run game, including a sack. On Sunday he will be playing with some extra fire as he shares the field with someone he’s never gotten to before, his little brother.

Justin Reid was a second round pick in the 2018 draft and has been a solid starter in Houston since. Being five years younger than Eric, the brothers were never able to share the field as teammates or opponents through their football careers. Now they finallt get to face off.

Hopefully Eric’s self proclaimed dominance over his little brother continues in Texas. Reid has a lot on his plate this week facing one of the strongest receiving corps in the NFL and a more than capable quarterback. I’ll be watching him closely in this one.

TE Greg Olsen

Unlike Texas, Greg Olsen is actually back.

After numerous nagging injuries to his foot, the veteran tight end seems to have returned to form just when the Panthers needed him the most. Here are his stat splits for perspective:

2018 (9 games started)

27 receptions, 291 yards, four touchdowns

2019 (3 games started)

16 receptions, 221 yards, two touchdowns.

Olsen is on pace to comfortable surpass 1000 yards in 2019, which would be the fourth time in his career to achieve this feat. The three time pro-bowler had a favorable matchup against the worst tight end defense in the NFL last week. This week he faces a much more formidable opponent.

For Kyle Allen to be successful, Greg Olsen will have to provide support throughout. I’ll be watching closely to see if the connection between the two in the Desert carries over to the Lone Star State.

OT Greg Little

The rookie second round pick saw his first NFL action in the third week, and looked great along the way. Carolina chose to institute a rotation at the left tackle spot between Daryl Williams and Greg Little. Williams struggled (again) and Little shined.

This week, with right guard Trai Turner out, the Panthers will start Little on the left side and kick Williams into the right guard spot. If Little is able to hold it down against one of the best pass rushing groups in the league, he should be in consideration to take the reigns at that spot for the rest of the season. Daryl Williams is much more natural playing on the right side, and I expect him to look much better than he has to this point in Trai Turner’s spot.

You won’t need to watch too closely to know if Kyle Allen’s pocket is getting blown up on every play. If Little holds up on Sunday, the Panthers offensive line may have an extremely bright future.