4 things we learned from Panthers’ stunning Week 3 victory
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers got their season up and running with a tremendous win at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.
This was a polished performance for the most part that ended a concerning ten-game losing streak dating back to last season, giving new head coach Matt Rhule his first taste of success at the next level. The Carolina Panthers had to work hard for their triumph, but they managed to thwart a late run fro the Chargers to come away from SoFi Stadium with the upset.
Not many expected the Panthers to come away with anything in this one. Anthony Lynn’s men took the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to overtime the previous week and Carolina was also without the services of veteran left tackle Russell Okung, star running back Christian McCaffrey, and defensive tackle Kawann Short.
With their backs against the wall, the Panthers’ young roster came together to get a crucial win that will stand them in good stead going forward. There are some notable challenges on the immediate horizon in the coming weeks, so it remains to be seen whether they can build on this and put a run of results together.
It is just one victory, but it is something that Carolina should savor.
This has been a long time coming and although things might have been different had running back Austin Ekeler successfully collected a lateral on the final play, this shouldn’t detract from what a fantastic achievement this was.
Let’s take a look at four things we learned from the Panthers’ first win of the 2020 season.