Through 13 weeks, the Carolina Panthers are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the most successful fourth-down conversions in the NFL with 21. They’re doing it with a 70 percent conversion rate, the fourth-best mark in the league.
Against a Los Angeles Rams team that entered Charlotte riding a six-game winning streak, that identity was the difference in the Panthers’ biggest win of the season.
Early in the second quarter, facing a 4th-and-1 at the Rams’ 24-yard line, Head coach Dave Canales didn’t hesitate. Running back Rico Dowdle took the handoff, powered for six, and the drive turned into a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal.
Carolina Panthers are going for broke with a fearless mentality reaping rewards
Then came the sequence that flipped the game on a 4th-and-3 in the third quarter. The Rams were up 21-17. It was the exact moment when most teams trot out the field-goal unit to stay within striking distance. But Canales kept quarterback Bryce Young on the field.
Young dropped back and let it rip down the sideline. Jalen Coker caught it, fought off Emmanuel Forbes Jr., dragged him into the end zone, and delivered the biggest touchdown of his young career. But the biggest gamble came late in the third quarter.
It was a 4th-and-2 at the Rams’ 43-yard line. Canales dialed up a shot. Young found rookie Tetairoa McMillan streaking past the secondary for a 43-yard touchdown. And it ended up being the final score of the day.
This Panthers team didn’t enter the season planning to become the league’s most aggressive team. But with a young roster, you have to take risks to win games. That’s precisely what Carolina has been doing, and it’s working.
Seven wins. Six in their last nine. Five by exactly three points. Wins against the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, and now against a red-hot Rams squad.
But is this sustainable?
At some point, a play will fail. A gamble will backfire. A fourth and short will turn into a short field for the opponent. But that’s the beauty of what Carolina is building.
They’re not trying to be perfect. They’re trying to be the team that forces you out of your comfort zone. Right now, no one in the league is more dangerous when the scoreboard says fourth down.
One thing is already clear: This 7-6 Panthers team is the most fearless group in football, and every defense left on their schedule knows (and dreads) it.