Diontae Johnson headlines Panthers' studs and duds from Week 4 loss to Bengals

Breaking down who stood out for Carolina, whether for good or ill in this week's loss to Cincinnati.

Tim Weaver | 2 Hours Ago

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 29: Diontae Johnson #5 of the Carolina Panthers celebrates after scoring a receiving touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images)

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Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers had their chances against the Cincinnati Bengals at home today, but they just weren't able to take advantage of enough of them. Carolina has lost its fourth game of the season by a score of 34-24, bringing the team's regular season record down to 1-3.

Here are a few players and coaches who stood out this week, both good and bad.

Dud: HC Dave Canales

This entire game could have gone differently if the Panthers had been able to close the deal on their promising opening drive. After Andy Dalton led them all the way to the goal line, the offense broke down thanks to some uninspired red zone playcalling, featuring a series of unsuccessful inside zone runs for Chuba Hubbard and a failed fade to Diontae Johnson. Carolina got zero points out of the trip. Later in the third quarter the team's attempted fake punt for Johnny Hekker on a big fourth and three seemed like a very poor decision, and the late jump by defensive tackleNate Thurman is evidence this group is just too undisciplined too often to beat all except the worst teams around the league.

Stud: WR Diontae Johnson

One positive was the play of the team's clear-cut new number one wide receiver, Diontae Johnson. Dalton just missed him on a couple of deep passes that could have changed this game's outcome, but Johnson still managed to put up seven catches, a team-high 83 yards and a touchdown despite playing through a groin injury.

Dud: Panthers pass rush

Carolina's defense had a lot of problems in this one, so it's difficult to single out any one player to be at fault. That said, the pass rush rotation was truly toothless in this one. Jadeveon Clowney got pressure on Joe Burrow on the interception he threw, but aside from that one instance they almost didn't move the needle at all. Carolina's defense finished the game with zero sacks and just two quarterback hits. The defensive playcalling may not be in Dave Canales' hands, but it's still his defense and he didn't seem to have any ideas to stop Cincinnati despite it being really, really hard to play zone against a quarterback like Burrow when you're not getting pressure.

Stud: RB Chuba Hubbard

Hubbard had some help from his very large friends up front blocking for him, but he just put up his second-consecutive 100-yard game on the ground. Hubbard got 18 carries today and totaled 104 rushing yards (5.8 per attempt) and one touchdown. He added another 17 yards on four catches. It's the first time in almost two years the Panthers have had 100-yard rushers in two straight games.

Dud: WR Jonathan Mingo

Rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette dropped a couple of imperfect passes from Andy Dalton today that should have been caught. At least Legette has the excuse of inexperience, and he also scored a touchdown. Not so for Jonathan Mingo, who has yet to impress through 19 games now and still hasn't scored. Mingo had a bad drop on a critical third down today in the fourth quarter, and you could see Dalton's frustration on the broadcast.

Stud: QB Andy Dalton

Last but not least,Andy Dalton wasn't perfect but he was pretty sharp for much of the afternoon. Dalton was aggressive, accurate and had to deal with too many drops. Still, he managed to finish with a solid line of 25/40 for 220 yards, two touchdowns, one pick and an 83.3 passer rating. You can make a case that Dalton shoud have stepped up in the pocket on the deflected pass that was intercepted, but it's tough to say he should have sensed that particular pressure from almost directly behind him. Overall, Dalton's level of play was well above-average, which is all you can ask. If not for that first failed drive and a few untimely drops, he might be 2-0 on the year.