Panthers mythbuster: Best advice for Panther fans frustrated by defense? Wait it out.

Jay-Z said it best in his 2009 song, Reminder — “men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”

So for any Carolina Panthers fans frustrated by the team’s defensive output in 2018, here’s what the numbers suggest through the first five games of the season.

The Panthers are allowing 358 yards per game, including 255.6 through the air and 102 on the ground — good for a decidedly mediocre 14th, 15th and 15th in the NFL, respectively.

In head coach Ron Rivera’s seven seasons in Charlotte before 2018, the defense finished in the top-10 in yards allowed per game five times — 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. In three of those seasons, they dramatically improved on the less-glamorous side of the ball after their first five games.

Carolina’s yards allowed per game dropped from 377 through its first five games to 333 by the end of the 2012 season, from 368 to 340 in 2014, and 338 to 323 in 2015. Rivera’s teams improved against the run by 7.3 yards on average in their five best seasons and 1.2 yards against the pass — with 2017’s 35-yard decline in pass defense skewing the curve.

One reason behind the slow starts, Rivera said, is the instability within Carolina’s defensive secondary.

“We’ve never started a season with the same defensive secondary in my eight years here. There’s been no consistency,” he said. “We’ve been in flux in the secondary so I think a lot of it has to do with eventually you come together and gel. Sometimes you gel a little faster but I think we’re pretty much on track.

“As the secondary solidifies, I think everything comes into place.”

The Panthers’ pass rush in 2018 — or lack thereof in some fans’ eyes — remains a popular complaint among armchair quarterbacks, despite Rivera’s claims that it’s nothing to lose sleep over.

Historically speaking, he has a point.

In those five aforementioned seasons, the Panthers averaged 14.2 sacks and 8.2 turnovers through their first five games. Their numbers through five games in 2018: 12 sacks and eight turnovers. They picked up their pace each season, finishing no worse than 13th in the league with no fewer than 39 sacks.

One more relevant stat that should inspire patience within the Panthers fanbase is the most important stat of all — victories. In Rivera’s five best seasons, which include four NFC South titles, the Panthers went a combined 15-10 through the first five games of each season.

That averages out to a 3-2 start — the Panthers’ exact record through five games in 2018.

Knee-jerk reaction says a defense with seven former Pro Bowlers should be better than middle-of-the-pack in most major categories. The numbers, however, say to ride this one out.