One Way the Panthers Could Beat the Broncos

The Denver Broncos have to guard against the threat the Carolina Panthers pose in this area.

Oct 13, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) runs for yardage against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos might be amidst their easiest stretch of games of the 2024 schedule. After completely dominating the New Orleans Saints in Sean Payton’s homecoming to the tune of a 33-10 road win, Denver now gets to host the plummeting Carolina Panthers.

With Denver getting a “mini-bye” after playing on Thursday Night Football last week, the Broncos will likely be as healthy and rested as at any point for the remainder of the year.

The Broncos have emerged from the bottom-feeder teams across the NFL and now sit at the table of “not championship caliber but could be feisty if they make the playoffs” type teams. With a fantastic defense, a strong kicking game, and an emerging run game, Denver has the type of identity that tends to play well as the season progresses and the weather worsens.

Thanks in large part to the vision and internal culture established by Payton, a long-time successful head coach, Denver finally feels like it has positive momentum as a team very much on the rise.

On the opposite sideline on Sunday, the vibes are very different. The Panthers come to Denver as 9.5-point underdogs and are coming off a 40-7 loss to the Washington Commanders and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.

As if the Panthers weren’t dealing with enough adversity already, starting quarterback Andy Dalton was in a minor car accident this week with his family. Fortunately, everyone walked away from the accident, but Dalton suffered a sprained thumb on his throwing hand. The Panthers will now turn back to recently benched former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who was playing incomprehensibly bad football to start the season before being benched prior to Week 3.

This Panthers team is extremely devoid of talent and at the bottom of the league in most metrics. Carolina is currently the worst team in football according to the advanced metric, DVOA, with a bottom-five offense and bottom-two defense. The Broncos could help push the Panthers towards their 2025 destiny of earning the No. 1 overall pick yet again. They've been that bad.

How could the Broncos lose to the Panthers this week? The first, obvious answer is turnovers.

Bo Nix and the Broncos have, more or less, done a much better job of late protecting the football. Nix has yet to fumble the football and has one interception and one turnover-worthy pass (the egregious drop by Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu) over his last four starts.

The Broncos have had some issues holding onto the football with fumbles from Javonte Williams and Audric Estime the last two weeks, but on offense, even if they continue to trot out a bottom-10 unit that struggles to throw the football consistently, as long as their drives end with kicks (extra points, field goals, or punts), they should be in a very good position to not only win on Sunday but win convincingly.

Chuba Hubbard

Are there any other areas Broncos Country should worry about on Sunday? This is a rather dreadful Panthers football team this season, but if there is one area where they're average or better, it's the combination of their offensive line with their running game.

The Panthers will come into Denver as the 14th-ranked EPA/Rush team in the NFL and the ninth-ranked rushing success rate offense in the NFL. The Panthers struggle to pass the ball, and they don't have the benefit of a quarterback with rushing ability. On top of that, they have a horrible defense that puts the offense in the hole early and often, so the opportunity for rushing the football isn't always available to the Panthers.

Still, the Panthers have a pathway toward offensive competency by handing the ball off to Hubbard behind this offensive line. Hubbard has 537 rushing yards on the year and a solid 5.2 yards per carry. He has put the ball on the turf twice this season and has not been much of a factor in the passing game, but on the whole, the Panthers' run game has been the lone bright spot on this team.

The Broncos defense has been extremely good this season, ranking second in EPA/Play, fourth in success rate, and third in DVOA. However, if this defense does have a relative weakness, it would be its run defense.

Denver is still quite strong against the run, ranking 10th in EPA/Rush but league average (15th) in rush success rate. In juxtaposition, the Broncos rank second in EPA/Pass defense and third in defensive pass success rate.

The Broncos should win this upcoming Sunday as long as they protect the football and lean into the formula they've developed over the previous seven weeks. However, to remove all doubt of victory, Denver should scheme to take away the Panthers' rushing attack and make Young beat them.

By stymying the run on early downs, the Broncos would force Carolina into obvious passing situations. This could lead to becoming the No. 1 defense by the end of the week in many key metrics.

Bottom Line

Stopping the run this week can be used as a fine tuneup game for arguably the toughest two-game stretch any team will face this season, as Denver heads on the road to Baltimore and then Kansas City.

Both Baltimore and Kansas City rank in the top five in key rushing metrics, so how Denver is able to stop the run will be critical to staying on a playoff pace this season.

---

Follow Denver Broncos On SI/Mile High Huddle on X and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!