The Carolina Panthers swung and missed for the third straight time to start the season, striking out to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. And while the defeat came with its underwhelming showings, it also came with a few encouraging ones.
Here are the studs and duds from the 37-27 loss:
Stud: QB Andy Dalton
Dalton didn’t put up the prettiest 361-yard, two-touchdown performance you’ll see. After all, his career-high 58 chucks helped result in a pretty mid average of 6.2 yards per attempt.
But the Red Rifle fired up an offense that mustered up all of 266 passing yards in its previous two outings. Progress!
Dud: RB Miles Sanders
Unfortunately, the offense regressed on the ground—totaling 44 yards on 14 carries.
Sanders headed the unit, taking nine totes for just 24 yards. Plus, he dropped a third-quarter pass that probably could’ve gone for a 37-yard touchdown reception.
Studs: WRs Adam Thielen and DJ Chark
Panthers wideouts came into Week 3 having combined for 163 receiving yards over their first two games. But one of them almost matched that number single-handedly on Sunday.
Thielen went for 145 yards and a touchdown on 11 grabs. Chark also joined in on the production by displaying his prowess as a deep threat, amassing 84 yards off four grabs—one of which was a 47-yard score.
Dud: LT Ikem Ekwonu
In case you didn’t hear, because their offensive line certainly didn’t, the Panthers racked up eight false start penalties. Four of those were charged to Ekwonu, who already had four flags thrown at him between Weeks 1 and 2.
Stud: OLB Brian Burns
After he wrapped up his own quarterback, Burns got to the opposing one quite a few times in Week 3.
The two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher notched his third sack of the campaign to headline his three quarterback hits on Geno Smith. Overall, he recorded four tackles, with three of those winding up in a loss.
Dud: CB Donte Jackson
Jackson was accountable for two of the roughest defensive outcomes of the contest.
The first came on his busted coverage of running back Kenneth Walker III midway through the third quarter, which resulted in a 36-yard gain and eventual touchdown for Seattle. He was then Moss’d by rookie receiver Jake Bobo in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone.
