3 Panthers position groups that must step up vs. Saints in Week 2

Carolina Panthers DE/OLB

Is the Jameis Winston we saw in Week 1 a new player or an outlier?

During his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Winston threw for 121 touchdowns and 88 interceptions. This is not a ratio any coach or fan base is proud of.

Switch out uniforms and a year learning behind future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees, Winston seems to have reinvented himself into a legitime quarterback.

Even after a year of tutelage under an all-time great, Winston will still be prone to heaving a ball downfield when pressured. Last week, many throws were short by design.

Was this purely a matter of play calling to protect Winston from himself or potentially what the Green Bay Packers defense gave him?

Either way, Brian Burns, Hasson Reddick, and Shaq Thompson will need to penetrate the backfield to pressure Winston into unfavorable throws and takeaway the short dump offs and 5-8 yard tosses.

If they can replicate last week’s assault on Zach Wilson during their Week 1 outing against the New York Jets, we are bound to see some Thieves Avenue sightings pop up on social media. Something that was sorely missing where the Carolina Panthers are concerned during the early stages of the 2020 season.