CHARLOTTE – The Panthers will go to the north this week to begin a two-week excursion.
On Sunday at Ford Field, Carolina (0-4, 0-2 NFC South) plays host to the Detroit Lions (3-1, 1-0 NFC North), looking for its first victory of the year against the NFC North’s top team.
Here are five things to check out as you’re watching.
Correcting the offense
The Panthers’ offense is looking to see things begin to come together between their group of new pieces and new coaches this week, as the start of the season hasn’t been particularly smooth.
Rookie quarterback Bryce Young improved in the third start of his NFL career against Minnesota, though he committed a critical turnover in the second half.
Young lost the ball on a sack and watched as the Vikings returned it for a touchdown, taking a lead they wouldn’t give up in Week 4.
It was far from the first mistake of the season for the group still looking to tie up loose ends. But as offensive coordinator Thomas Brown pointed out, even though they have made mistakes, they haven’t made the same ones consistently. But they need to get it buttoned up all around.
“It’s just having a clean operation when it comes to execution, down in and down out,” Brown said. “It’s not always the exact same mistake over and over again, but as far as us having all living guys working together at one time to be efficient down and down out.”
The offense has also continued to struggle to string together efficient scoring drives and muster explosive plays, averaging 282.5 yards per game (25th in the league). Heading into their fifth week together, the group will look to be more productive against Detroit.
Carolina’s most productive offensive performance came in Week 3, accumulating 378 yards when veteran backup Andy Dalton played at Seattle in place of an injured Young. In terms of yardage, the Panthers’ offense peaked in Week 1 at Atlanta, putting up 281 yards.