NFC South power rankings, Week 4: Carolina Panthers' light flickers at last
It was a tough weekend for the NFC South. Three teams entered the day with a sense of renewed optimism following big wins. The fourth team, the cellar-dwelling Carolina Panthers, was the only one to stave off defeat.
What that means is two teams now sit at 2-1 and two teams are 1-2, which creates a juicy opportunity for a little bit of controversy regarding power ranking placement. Here are the Week 4 rankings, with a little look at each quarterback situation.
Let's get to it.
NFC South power rankings after Week 3 of the 2024 season
4. Carolina Panthers
- Last week: 4
- Quarterback situation: Improving in the short term
For the first time since arguably 2022, we can finally look back at a Carolina Panthers game and say things could not have gone better.
Following a brutal week that began with Bryce Young being benched and non-stop national criticism of the organization, the energy surrounding the team hit all-time lows. The franchise seemed lifeless and directionless, asking a 36-year-old journeyman quarterback to save it.
Boy, did he ever.
The Panthers hammered the Las Vegas Raiders as Andy Dalton threw for three touchdowns in the first half. His passer rating of 123.6 is the highest since P.J. Walker in Week 7 of 2022 and he became the first quarterback in the NFL to eclipse 300 yards passing in a game this season. This was exactly the type of performance fans envisioned when Dave Canales was hired, although they envisioned it out of Young.
The offensive line is grading out among the league's best and Canales was finally able to establish a run game behind a competent passing attack. This is an opportunity Chuba Hubbard seized to the tune of 169 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
The Panthers are not suddenly playoff contenders because of the win, nor do they get to move up in the rankings. Dalton, good as he was, got to benefit from playing an opponent whose talent levels may be similar. This team still projects to lose a lot of games and be in the running for the top pick.
Still, it satisfied a major slew of concerns expressed by fans and media about the direction of Canales as head coach. His schemes work, the offense can function, and the gutted defense can at least contain other weak offenses in the league when they aren’t on the field for 70 percent of the game.
Devoid of any good news in at least a year, the Panthers will take it.