Here’s the unglamorous reason why the Carolina Panthers have turned the corner

While the Panthers boasted a lot of loud highlight-film plays from their offensive skill players on Sunday, the most promising part of the game for Carolina occurred more quietly.

Both Carolina’s offensive and defensive lines were forceful and aggressive. That strong play in the trenches is the unglamorous reason why the Panthers have played so well in the last five quarters, outscoring opponents 57-21 in that time frame. And that bodes well for a Panthers team that is 5-2 with an extremely winnable home game Sunday against Tampa Bay that will close out the first half of the season.

While football can be balletic at times, with its twisting catches along the sideline and toe-taps in the back of the end zone, it is built upon a foundation of brutality. That’s where the Panthers excelled against Baltimore, as Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said later.

“You’re just out there going through your thing,” Flacco said, “and before you know it you are hit over the head with a team that’s playing more physical than you and beating you in every way. You are trying to fight to get back in the game and just can’t get it done.”

Cam Newton’s offensive line was supposed to be in all sorts of trouble after a slew of early injuries, including serious ones to both of the team’s starting offensive tackles. Instead, coach Ron Rivera said of Newton Monday: “We’re protecting him as well as we’ve ever protected him.”

‘Misfits’ playing well

Through seven games, Newton has been sacked only 10 times – easily a lower number than in any of his previous seven NFL seasons through this point in the season.

And while that number is helped by Newton not holding the ball as long and hoping in vain for a deep route to come open, it’s also because left tackle Chris Clark, left guard Greg Van Roten, center Ryan Kalil, right guard Trai Turner and right tackle Taylor Moton are playing extremely well as a unit.

“Our offensive line is playing as confident as they ever have,” Newton said after Carolina’s 36-21 win over Baltimore. “For guys labeled as ‘undesirables’ or ‘misfits,’ they sure are doing a great job.”

Clark, a nine-year veteran who was out of football and signed in mid-September to protect Newton’s blind side, has been one of the team’s greatest success stories of 2018. Carolina’s $55-million left tackle Matt Kalil was supposed to man that spot, but a knee injury has meant he hasn’t played all season. Matt Kalil (Ryan’s younger brother) is about to be eligible to come off injured reserve and has started working out, but if I were the Panthers I wouldn’t mess with success too much. As unusual as this seems, Clark is playing too well to bench. “If it ain’t broke....” you know the rest.

On defense, the Panthers only had two sacks Sunday but held Baltimore’s running game mostly in check and forced three turnovers. A 3-0 turnover margin will win you most games, and Carolina won that one handily for the first time all season.

‘Our best game’

Tampa Bay did the Panthers no favors when the Buccaneers announced Monday that Ryan Fitzpatrick would be the starter. Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston is far more turnover-prone, having thrown 10 interceptions in his past four games. Fitzpatrick is less mobile, but he has been more accurate and is less likely to have a multi-turnover game.

Still, he will be a fairly stationary target for Kawann Short, Mario Addison, Julius Peppers and company. None of the Panthers are having huge years individually as far as getting to the quarterback – Addison leads the team in sacks with a modest 4.5 – but Carolina seems to have settled in pretty well on defense after that early debacle at Atlanta.

“We’re starting to play Panther ball,” Addison said. “We’ve been knowing we have the team, man. But it don’t mean nothing if we don’t play like it…. Sunday was overall our best game from start to finish – we kept pressure on them the whole time.”

The same sort of pressure will be necessary against Tampa Bay, an inconsistent team that can be dangerous. The Buccaneers handed New Orleans its only loss of the season, but Tampa Bay (3-4) also lost by 38 points to Chicago.

It’s the type of game the Panthers certainly should win. With four road games in the next five coming after Tampa Bay, it’s the type of game the Panthers really need to win if they’re going to make the playoffs. And, if the lines keep playing anywhere near this level, it’s the type of game the Panthers will win.

This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 11:39 AM.