Carolina Panthers Week 5 Report Card: Offense

Grading the Carolina Panthers' performance on the offensive side of the ball vs Atlanta.

It's Tuesday....which means it's time to review this Sunday's game as we break out our weekly report card grading both sides of the football. Check back later this afternoon for our report card on the defense. 

Passing: A-

Teddy Bridgewater is completing passes at an extremely high rate, so many that he has now moved up to 2nd in the league in completion percentage at 73%. 

On Sunday vs the Falcons, Bridgewater looked the most relaxed we have seen him in this offense since joining the Panthers. He had all day to throw and was not missing. He and Robby Anderson are beginning to form a very dangerous connection that is already giving defensive coordinators headaches. 

Everyone likes to think of Bridgewater as just a dink and dunk quarterback, but he had a couple of nice throws down the field including one to Anderson that he put right on the money down the sideline in tight coverage. 

Another positive in the passing game is the sudden emergence of wide receiver DJ Moore. In the past two games, Moore has caught eight passes for a total of 142 yards and a touchdown. If he can continue to play at a high level, this will be a difficult offense to stop.

Rushing: A

Mike Davis went beast mode on Sunday. He ran hard and was not easy to bring down. He may not have the ability to pop off multiple explosive plays in a single game, but he's good for at least one. He has carried the load quite nicely since Christian McCaffrey went out with an ankle injury and if we're being honest, he's playing well above the expectations. 

On the Panthers' final drive of the game, Davis ran the ball for 24 yards on five carries and helped drain the clock. He was a big part in the Panthers holding on to secure the victory, which is why he was awarded one of the game balls in the locker room.

Blocking: A-

In terms of pass protection, you can't ask for much more right? For the 2nd straight week, the offensive line did not allow a single sack. This marks the first time since 2011 that the Panthers' offensive line went back-to-back games without allowing a sack. As I mentioned above, Bridgewater had all day to throw and there was never really any pressure generated from the Falcons at all. 

On the other hand, I felt like the run blocking could be a bit better. As a team, the Panthers rushed for an average of 4.6 yards per carry vs Atlanta and if the right side of the line pulled quicker on a few occasions, Davis could have earned a couple of extra yards. From my perspective, it seemed to just be a lack of communication. When you have the right side of the line pulling and you have blitzers coming from the strong side, you have to make sure you get a hat on a hat and have everyone accounted for. The final drive of the game when the Panthers were chewing off clock, it seemed like that everything was clicking and was on the same page. 

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