Carolina Panthers vs. Los Angeles Chargers injury report and scouting report for Week 3
For the Panthers, the first four games of the regular season are like the preseason.
Head coach Matt Rhule pointed out this week that without preseason games, the team’s loss to the Bucs was, experience-wise for the team, just the second game they have played. The third preseason games for teams is traditionally the one starters play the most time in and it provides the best sense of what a team will look like over the course of the regular season.
As the Panthers search for the first win of the Matt Rhule era without running back Christian McCaffrey (high-ankle sprain), the team will be looking to see improvement on a variety of levels. Against a rookie quarterback in Justin Herbert, the Panthers will have an opportunity to improve on the performance from the first two games of the year and get a better sense of the potential of this offense without McCaffrey. A big opportunity awaits in Los Angeles.
Let’s break it down.
WHEN THE PANTHERS HAVE THE BALL ...
It will be weird not to see McCaffrey out there. This is the first game the Panthers have played without him since he was drafted in the first-round in 2017 and his absence will be felt.
Mike Davis will start at running back and be used as a runner and a receiver, as seen in his eight receptions last week vs. the Buccaneers. Reggie Bonnafon will also likely get involved to a limited extent. The Chargers have given up 120-plus rushing yards in each of the first two games of the season and the Panthers will look to take advantage.
Last week, the Panthers turned the ball over four times and gave up five sacks on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Avoiding those setbacks will be key in Los Angeles. The Chargers have four sacks over the first two weeks — including three against a bad Bengals offensive line — and are led by pass rushers Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. The Panthers, however, may catch a break this week with their own injured offensive line as Ingram is doubtful to play with a knee injury.
Los Angeles has also limited big plays, allowing just one pass of 25-plus yards, tied for the fewest in the league with the help of two powerhouse corners in Casey Hayward and Chris Harris. Carolina’s offense has been most successful when Bridgewater has been able to find receivers DJ Moore and Robby Anderson down field (three passes of 25-plus yards so far).
The other X-factor for the Panthers? Curtis Samuel. He has not been involved much in the Panthers’ offense thus far. He has seven receptions for 51 yards and five rushes for 31 yards with no touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady acknowledged this week that getting Samuel more opportunities is a priority.
“Coming away from the first two games, I have to use Curtis more as a receiver. I gotta get the ball to him more,” Brady said. “That was (one) of my notes from the last two games. With his speed on the field, with him being able to push the ball deep. I have to utilize Curtis more in the pass game. He’s a wide receiver. I feel great about the running backs in our room, and I want Curtis to focus on what Curtis does best right now and let’s get him going in the pass game.”
Edge: Chargers
WHEN THE CHARGERS HAVE THE BALL ...
Justin Herbert time. This will be interesting to watch. The Panthers are facing Herbert, 22, in his first planned start after he was called into action just before the start of the Chargers game vs. the Chiefs last week due to quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s lung getting accidentally punctured prior to kickoff by the team doctor.
The sixth overall pick played well overall on short notice, completing 22 of 33 passes for 311 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked twice. Herbert is someone who the Panthers are familiar with from the draft process.
“We spent a lot of time studying him with thoughts of maybe drafting him,” Carolina defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. “So we put a lot of time into him last year, we studied him a lot.”
Herbet has plenty of weapons to take advantage of, from wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams to tight end Hunter Henry and running back Austin Ekeler. Ekeler has rushed for 80-plus yards in each of the first two games behind a solid offensive line that includes former Panthers guard Trai Turner, who is likely to play despite his questionable designation (groin).
Against that line, the Panthers will be in search of the first sack of the season and look to add to the one quarterback hit (from defensive tackle Zach Kerr) the team has had. Carolina has never gone three straight games with registering at least one sack, and potentially being without defensive tackle Kawann Short for a second straight game with a foot injury (he’s doubtful) won’t help the matter. Defensive end Brian Burns is a likely candidate after a dominant second half against the Buccaneers last week.
The Panthers will also need big games from cornerbacks Donte Jackson and Rasul Douglas and rookie Jeremy Chinn, who moves all over the field. Thus far, Douglas has been one of the positives on the defense.
Even though the Chargers have a rookie quarterback, the Panthers defense still has to prove it deserves an edge going into a game.
Edge: Chargers
WHEN THEY KICK ...
Panthers kicker Joey Slye is one of 13 kickers in the NFL to not have missed a field goal this season. That’s a positive for a kicker who has struggled with consistency in the past. Slye did miss one extra-point attempt in Week 1, but he was perfect in windy Tampa, Fla.
Chargers kicker Michael Badgley has been unsuccessful on one of his six attempts this season, missing from 50 yards. He has made all three of his extra points.
One note here: The Panthers are tied for the second-fewest punts in the league this year with four. But that’s not necessarily a good thing when one of the causes was four turnovers in Tampa. The Chargers have punted eight times this year — tied for 16th fewest.
PREDICTION
There are a lot of unknowns in this game. How will the Panthers’ offense look without McCaffrey? What should be expected from Herbert in his second career start?
The Panthers will bounce back from last week and be improved in terms of turnovers and getting in more of an offensive rhythm. The only positive for Carolina is that LA hasn’t scored more than 20 points in a game this season and the Panthers scored 30 against the Raiders (17 against the Bucs). But we just haven’t seen enough from this team to prove that they can beat a Chargers team that took the Chiefs to overtime. The Panthers will be competitive once again, but just not there yet without McCaffrey.
Chargers 24, Panthers 20
PANTHERS VS. BUCS INJURY REPORT
Panthers: DT Kawann Short (foot) DOUBTFUL, G Dennis Daley (ankle) DOUBTFUL, LT Russell Okung (groin) QUESTIONABLE.
Chargers: QB Tyrod Taylor (ribs/chest) OUT, LB Asmar Bilal (calf) OUT, DT Justin Jones (shoulder) OUT, RB Justin Jackson (quadricep) DOUBTFUL, DE Melvin Ingram (knee) DOUBTFUL, LB Nick Vigil (groin) DOUBTFUL, S Rayshawn Jenkins (groin) QUESTIONABLE, T Bryan Bulaga (knee) QUESTIONABLE, G Trai Turner (groin) QUESTIONABLE.
