The Carolina Panthers dominated the Atlanta Falcons, evening their record at 1-1 and giving the team plenty of reasons to feel good about where things are headed. Bryce Young threw three touchdowns, the defense forced four turnovers, and head coach Dave Canales' squad looked in control from start to finish.
That makes this weekend's trip to the Cleveland Browns a dangerous spot.
The Browns are also 1-1, fresh off a shock win on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team expected to win or at least compete for the NFC South crown.
Carolina Panthers cannot afford complacency against the Browns in Week 3
Cleveland's defense recorded three sacks and forced an interception and a fumble in the first half. The Browns also held Tampa Bay to 44 rushing yards, keeping the Buccaneers from consistently establishing the tempo on the ground.
That matters for a Panthers offense that is coming off a game in which almost everything clicked.
Carolina scored 34 points against Atlanta and has now scored 71 points through two games, the most in franchise history through the first two games of a season. Young has found his groove within Brad Idzik's offense, and his playmakers are all stepping up during a sensational start to the campaign.
Cleveland will present a much different challenge than Atlanta did.
And the Panthers already know how quickly things can change.
Because one week after allowing 59 points and 552 yards to the Chicago Bears, Carolina held Atlanta to three points and 286 yards.
Quietening the Cleveland crowd will be crucial for the Carolina Panthers
That same mindset needs to carry into Cleveland.
The Browns are hardly an unbeatable opponent. Their Week 2 win came after another slow offensive start and a long weather delay. They still had plenty of problems to clean up. But that is exactly what makes this matchup dangerous.
Cleveland doesn't need to play a perfect game to make Carolina uncomfortable. They just need to avoid giving the Panthers easy opportunities, stay within striking distance, and force them to execute for four quarters.
That is a much different challenge from beating a Falcons team that fell behind early and never recovered.
The Panthers will also be on the road, and the Browns' fans should be eager to make themselves heard. And if Carolina manages to quieten the crowd, their frustrations will probably turn onto maligned quarterback Deshaun Watson.
That's a win-win for the Panthers. But it only comes by playing well in all phases.
The Browns just showed they can respond after a terrible opening week. Now, Carolina gets its first chance to see whether it can maintain that same intensity after a blowout win.
That could make this the Panthers' first real trap game of the season.
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