Carolina Panthers
Hintz and Lea: All three phases went well for the Panthers during the win over the Falcons
Kacy Hintz and Chris Lea analyze what went well for the Panthers during the win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Welcome back into sports extra when you know, we've got a win to talk about. So let's bring in Wrels, Chris Lee Chris, in the words of Bryce Young, these are more fun after a win, right? And a big part of that was because of the rookie QB today, leading a game winning drive, a couple big time throws in those conditions, no less Chris. How encouraging is that it's very encouraging and I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I happened to just wear a Panthers, uh hoodie today. Um I've had it on all day and then this happens to happen, but when the Carolina Panthers got the ball at their own five yard line with seven minutes and 35 seconds left in the game, I, I thought for sure that they were gonna punt it off and then the Atlanta Falcons would have something and then maybe they punted back off and then the Panthers will have the ball again. No, they kept it the entire time and the Falcons did not get a chance to touch the ball again after that. And a lot of that thanks to Chuba Hubbard who we'll talk about in just a bit. But also thanks to Bryce Young, um, there's been a lot of questions with Bryce Young and about, you know, the way he's been throwing it. I is he regressing in ways. And one of the, the biggest plays of the day, which happened to be on the same drive came on a 2nd and 1010 and he hit DJ Chark and one of the best throws, but also one of the best catches from any of the Panthers. Uh, we've seen this season where Shark got the ball tiptoed, you know, both, uh, feet in inbounds and, uh, possessed it. I watching it live. I could not believe that, uh, that, that was, um, you know, complete up and completed catch and that ended up happening and, and the Panthers keeping the ball for seven minutes and 35 seconds to go to a win. Nothing went wrong. No penalties on their end. Things like that. It finally came together and that's exactly what we saw in that Houston game when they got their other win, uh, so far this season. So, one of the things I thought was that was really cool about this entire thing. Offense went well, it was the best offense on the, on the field tonight. Uh, then also defense went well and also special teams went well, all three phases of the ball going well for the Carolina Panthers. That's crazy talk because that doesn't happen this season and that's the reason why they got a chance to get a win today. Coaches talk in nauseam about complementary football. We definitely saw that here today. Exactly why they called it a complete team win. But we knew because of the conditions that both teams were gonna lean on the run game. You mentioned Chuba Hubbard, he was carrying the load that's kind of been building here the last few weeks. How much confidence does that give this team that maybe they're building an identity in the run game? Oh, Canada, our guy, Chuba Hubbard, the Canadian doing his thing. Uh, 22 carries 87 yards today and a few uh explosive uh runs at a 22 yarder and a 21 yarder and a few others. And of course, his legs were needed to keep um uh the, the drive going at the very end of the game. Uh It's helpful when you have uh somebody like that who can keep the ball moving. Um Miles Sanders. He was supposed to be that guy and he has not stepped up to the plate at all this season. So it's been Chuba Hubbard, uh a, a guy that some fans wanted to get rid of a few years ago, uh because he had some struggles as a rookie, but he's just continuing to work, put his head down and he's become the best running back on this team and this line, this offensive line is pretty much the same from last year. Of course, there's more injuries this year and a lot of differences, uh, when it comes down to the guys who are kind of filling in, but this line was built as a run blocking line. So that's one of the reasons why they've had a hard time keeping Bryce Young upright. So when they are running and when they can have the opportunity to move the ball on the ground, they have that going for them. They've been looking pretty good. Um, it, it's only been a few spurts this season, but this year in this game, it's been Chuba Hubbard taking advantage of that and, uh, helping them to, to keep the ball moving. And, you know, it's only two wins, but I know they would like to try to build on this two more, uh, home games left next week against the Packers. Maybe this is something they can build on to try to establish more of an identity. So when the next head coach comes in, he can kind of look and say, hey, maybe I should run the ball a little bit more than what Frank Reich and, and Matt Rue did. So I don't have the same treatment they had, which is getting fired in the middle of the season. Juba Hubbard, the pride of Sherwood Park, Alberta. All right. Well, the pride of the Panthers, a lot of these games has been the defense today, another stout solid, whatever you wanna call it performance from those guys. But something we talked about, I feel like all season was, you know, the defense would play well, but they just weren't getting the turnovers today. They had multiple turnovers. Chris, it's gotta be impressive as we continue to look at this defense, multiple turnovers and Casey, they both came in the fourth quarter, the last two offensive drives for the Falcons ended in turnovers. And so you had, uh, the, uh, the fumble from Bijon Robinson that was recovered by, uh, Brian Burns and of course, the, uh, interception from, uh, Xavier Woods when, you know, the Falcons looked like they were about to score. They were knocking on the door right there and, uh, he gets interception Panthers start at their own five and then, you know, we just talked about that drive from there, uh, huge for the Carolina Panthers because as you said, uh, they haven't had many games like this this season where they've had multiple takeover, uh, take turnovers, excuse me. Uh, and they haven't had a chance to give the offense the ball a lot and they did it twice, uh, on those last two drives and it ended up, uh, winning the Panthers the game. So shout outs to this group of guys. They've been the most steady, uh, on this team. They have been, but don't break, they had a few, uh, weird weeks there, but that's when they were, like, steeped in injuries. Now, mostly everybody is back. Everybody is, uh, for the most part is playing well and healthy. So, uh, the Panthers defense kind of stepping up and maybe, uh, that's part of their identity too, down the stretch. Uh, so that the Panthers can maybe pick up another one and two just, uh, just for, they don't feel too bad at the end of the season when this is all over. Right. Right. You know, I think it's impressive to see, you know, no matter how bad it got, the defense has continued to show up. Well, I don't know, I think you've got your, uh, Christmas Eve, get up, you're gonna have to wear that sweatshirt again. Hopefully bring home another Panthers win against the Packers for a good Christmas present. Chris Lee. Thank you so much.