Dave Canales, Jalen Coker among Panthers' winners and losers in Week 8

The Panthers once again walked away as losers on Sunday, but it wasn't all bad for everyone.

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 10: Head coach Dave Canales of the Carolina Panthers looks on during rookie minicamp on May 10, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

The Carolina Panthers forced a turnover and scored on an impressive drive to open the game. Everything went completely downhill from there until the final drive, but there were some positives (and negatives) from an individual standpoint.

1. Loser: Dave Canales

Dave Canales is a rookie head coach who ascended faster than anyone expected, so games like this aren't a surprise necessarily. However, Canales looked like a rookie on Sunday. He made questionable fourth-down calls, including a fake punt just past the 20. His playcalling was, at times, misguided, too.

2. Winner: Jalen Coker

Jalen Coker has become a fan-favorite in his rookie season. Today might have been his best day as a pro, as he made several catches and had one of the best days on offense. He made a couple of sterling grabs (one was negated by a penalty) on the day. One of them went for his first career touchdown.

3. Loser: Ejiro Evero

Ejiro Evero had his hands tied behind his back on Sunday, facing a hot offense and without many healthy, good players at his disposal. Still, Evero's defense couldn't make stops outside of opening-drive and garbage time fumble recoveries. It also has to sting seeing his former defense do so well while he couldn't get anything going.

4. Winner: Bryce Young

Bryce Young was never going to play perfectly after being thrust back into the lineup against this defense. But he played well overall, even if some of it came in garbage time. It was enough that Canales should consider starting him whether Andy Dalton is healthy or not. Two touchdowns is as many as Dalton had in two weeks and two more than Young had in his first two starts.

5. Loser: Jonathan Mingo

Jonathan Mingo didn't do anything poorly today, but he failed to catch even one of his three targets. The worst thing is how heavily involved both Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker were. One year removed from being a second-round pick and without the top two wideouts on offense, Mingo was a complete afterthought. It does not bode well for his future.

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