Panthers Tracks: Why Carolina may have the inside track to stopping the Chargers
When the Carolina Panthers travel to Los Angeles to face to Chargers on Sunday, they’ll know a little bit about the man playing on the opposite side at quarterback.
Not Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor is out again this week because the team’s doctor accidentally punctured his lung while trying to administer a pain-killing injection last week.
Yeah.
But the Panthers’ staff is actually familiar with his replacement, Justin Herbert.
The Panthers considered taking Herbert, a former Oregon quarterback, with the No. 7 overall pick. He was thought to be a potential backup to Teddy Bridgewater, who they signed to a three-year deal in March, and possibly the future face of the Panthers franchise.
The Chargers, who needed a quarterback, ultimately took Herbert with the No. 6 pick, and the Panthers chose defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
“We put a lot of time into him last year, so we studied him a lot,” defensive coordinator Phil Snow said of Herbert on Thursday.
Perhaps that will help the Panthers, who desperately need something to go right, after starting the season 0-2.
Herbert started in replace of Taylor last week against Kansas City and nearly beat the Chiefs. But Kansas City came back and beat the Chargers (1-1) in overtime, 23-20.
Herbert completed 22-of-33 passes for 311 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also rushed for 18 yards and a touchdown.
“He did a nice job,” Snow said. “Probably didn’t even expect to play in the football game and to go in and play the way he did, I thought he did a great job.”
Because of the doctor’s mishap, Herbert didn’t find out he was starting last week until the day of the game. So in the practices leading up to that game, he took only second-team snaps.
“Now he’s going into this game as the starter and getting all the reps with the first unit,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “We expect him to be able to do more things and, hopefully, he’ll be more comfortable in his reads and things like that.
“He’s a good, young quarterback, that’s why you guys were interested in him,” Lynn said of the Panthers. “We were fortunate to get him where we got him with the sixth pick.”
Perhaps the Panthers’ previous interest in Herbert will pay off Sunday and help them get their first win.
— Jonathan M. Alexander
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This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
