Carolina Panthers must control the tempo on offense
When the Carolina Panthers ran higher tempo on offense against the Atlanta Falcons, there were some encouraging signs. Even though things reverted to type during almost every other drive during another dismal loss.
The Panthers can ill-afford the same mistakes at the Buffalo Bills. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very long afternoon.
Although the Bills have former Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott as their head coach and a wealth of ex-Carolina players on the roster, there could be an opportunity to take advantage of some slight cracks in their recent form.
Buffalo is giving up 134.3 yards per game on the ground over the last three contests. This included an embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots, who threw the football just three times in blustery conditions.
Given the Panthers are looking to implement a run-first mindset moving forward, this is something they have to capitalize on. But gaining yards through the air will be a tough ask considering Buffalo has the No. 2 ranked defense in passing yards allowed with just 179.5 per game.
Setting the right tempo offensively is the only way Carolina has a chance in this one. Whether new coordinator Jeff Nixon can accomplish this or not is another matter entirely.