5 studs and duds from the Panthers loss at the Packers
By Dean Jones
Brian Burns – Carolina Panthers DE
As any Carolina Panthers fan will tell you, Brian Burns is a star in the making.
Against the Packers, he put the entire NFL on notice.
The 2019 first-round pick was a colossal presence on the edge and played a leading role in Carolina turning things around on defense as the game went on. Allowing the Packers to score on their first three drives was unacceptable. But after that, they were sensational.
Burns enhanced his claims of being one of the NFL’s brightest young pass-rushers. His battle with David Bakhtiari – who is widely regarded as the best in the business – wasn’t expected to bring much joy thanks to the left tackle’s level of production this season.
How wrong we were.
The former Florida State standout recorded two sacks, four tackles, two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits from 94 percent of Carolina’s defensive snaps. Burns did go off late in the game with an apparent MCL sprain that leaves his status for Week 15 at the Washington Football Team up in the air, which would be a blow as the Panthers go in search of victory against their former head coach Ron Rivera.
The scary thing about Burns is that he is only going to get better moving forward. That is great news for the Panthers but should leave every edge protector in the NFL quaking with fear.