Panthers PFF grades: Jalen Coker shines, Bryce Young finishes hot in Week 5 loss to Bears

The Carolina Panthers got whooped by the Chicago Bears, but there were at least a few silver linings.

Aug 24, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (18) catches a pass for a touchdown over Buffalo Bills cornerback Kyron Brown (32) in the fourth quarter pre-season game at Highmark Stadium. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers may have lost on Sunday to the Chicago Bears by 26 points. They also lost several key pieces to injury, including what appears to be a season-ending one for starting center Austin Corbett. However, the game wasn't a total loss, as the Panthers got a few silver linings from some of their younger core contributors.

Let's see what we can learn from the team's Pro Football Focus grades from Week 5.

Jalen Coker, Bryce Young lead offense

At the top of the list is undrafted rookie wide receiver Jalen Coker, who looked very impressive - at least compared to Carolina's other pass-catchers, who couldn't get open against Chicago's secondary to save their lives. Coker showed off some sharp route running and soft hands, catching all four of his targets and totaling a team-high 68 receiing yards. For his trouble Coke earned the Panthers' highest PFF grade on offense this week at 83.3 overall, including 79.3 in passing.

Second-year quarterback Bryce Young came in second place in the offensive grades, even though it was a very small sample size. In nine snaps Young put up 58 passing yards, including a gorgeous 27-yard dime to Miles Sanders. Young earned an 83.2 passing grade and 80.5 overall.

At the other end of the spectrum, tight ends Ja'Tavion Sanders (two drops) and Tommy Tremble (fumble) posted the lowest grades on offense at 42.0 and 33.6 overall respectively. Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo wasn't far from the bottom at 49.0, further boosting Coker's case for more looks.

Shy Tuttle paces atrocious defense

On the other side of the ball it was mostly ugliness. Only two defenders posted a grade of 75.0 overall or better - including safety Xavier Woods (75.1) and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle (86.7). Tuttle posted six tackles in the loss and earned an 88.7 grade in run defense.

Cornerback Jaycee Horn and rookie linebacker Trevin Wallce posted strong tackling grades, but pretty much everyone else flunked out on defense this week. Jadeveon Clowney, Charles Harris, T.J. Smith, Tarron Jackson and A'Shawn Robinson posted the lowest grades on this end.

Feleipe Franks, special teams king

Tight end Feleipe Franks continues to dominate the team's special teams grades every week, and he once again posted the highest mark in this phase of the game at 85.9. Franks is shining particularly well in punt coverage. Jalen Coker also posted the second-highest grade (76.1) on special teams this week.

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