Studs and duds from the Carolina Panthers disastrous 2024 NFL season opener

Matt Alquiza | Sep 8, 2024

Sep 8, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau (87) scores a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at Caesars Superdome. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers left New Orleans like many travelers do. Bruised, beat-up, and likely with a stomach ache. In a blowout loss, it’s hard to find positive performances, let alone “studs,” but a fe Panthers acquitted themselves well in the midst of the disastrous loss.

Studs:

Mike Jackson

The starting corner opposite Jaycee Horn was flying all over the field in his Panthers debut. Jackson tallied seven tackles and a pass deflections, showing some impressive downfield coverage skills and sure-handed tackling. Though Jackson was one of few defensive studs, he had a dud-like blunder when he was called for pass interference on a throw that flew yards over the head of Saints speedster Rashid Shaheed.

Xavier Legette

The rook pulled in his first career receptions, and that deserves to be celebrated. Legette finished with four catches for 35 yards in his NFL debut, and Jonathan Mingo’s calamitous afternoon could open up more playing time for the Panthers’ 2024 first round draft pick as the season progresses.

Eku Leota

Leota brought down Derek Carr for his first career NFL sack. Like Legette’s first career reception, that deserves to be celebrated. Leota saw plenty of game action opposite Jadeveon Clowney as the Panthers continue to rotate through outside linebacker options. The second-year undrafted free agent finished with four tackles, three of which were for Saints losses. A bright spot in a dark afternoon.

Duds:

Bryce Young

I detailed Young’s abysmal performance in a different post, so I won’t go into huge detail in this space. Young was bad. His opening salvo of 2024 was reminiscent of his much maligned rookie campaign. Much went wrong for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, none of which mattered more than Young's horrific performance.

Dave Canales

The Panthers looked wholly unprepared to play football on Sunday. The defense was flat, the offense lacked creativity, playmakers couldn’t hold on to the ball, special teams got dominated, the list goes on and on. The onus falls on the head coach to have his troops prepared to go to battle on Sundays, and Dave Canales failed in his first opportunity at running the show.

Could things have been different if Canales decided to play his starters in the preseason? It’s impossible to know for certain, but this looked like a team that only played one real drive against third-stringers this summer.

Specifically, his quarterback was fooled by the Saints blitz packages all afternoon. Canales did his quarterback no favors, leaving him without hot answers when New Orleans dialed up pressures. It’s impossible to know if that falls on his shoulders or his quarterbacks, but they both have to be better. 

One game doesn’t make a career, but it was an ominous start for Canales’ head coaching regime. The issues that plagued the Panthers since 2020 reared their ugly heads again, and again, and again. Canales has openly admitted that the Panthers “need to get the football right” in order to win the hearts of the dwindling the fan base, and that did not happen in week one. 

Jonathan Mingo

Two fumbles marred Mingo’s 2024 debut. The superstar of training camp was given every opportunity to turn the page on his extremely disappointing rookie campaign, and they continuously slipped through his fingers. The Panthers need their offensive weaponry to step up to figure out if Young is their guy going forward. Mingo’s propensity to put the ball on the deck did both him and his quarterback no favors. 

The defense as a whole

The Saints starting offense did not punt on Sunday afternoon. Rashid Shaheed set the tone for the afternoon, scoring a 59-yard touchdown on the Saints first possession, and the Flur De Lis lidded outfit never stopped scoring. It was truly a pitiful effort for Ejiro Evero’s unit, and save for Jackson’s flying around and Leota’s first career sack, nothing else went right for the Panthers defense.

Evero is coaching a defense that lacks talent at some key positions, but this was a completely different looking outfit than the one that finished top five in yards allowed last season. The Saints starting offense rushed for 165 yards on Sunday, picking up 13 first downs on the ground. A date with Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers next week will bring a steady diet of rushes to Charlotte, and Evero and crew will need to make some adjustments this week to assure that doesn’t happen again.

The special teams as a whole

The Saints were dominant in all three phases. A steady diet of explosive punt and kick returns in tandem with a blocked punt blessed the Saints offense with field position in positive territory all afternoon. Sunday was a three phase beatdown, no ifs ands or buts about it.

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