Green Bay Packers: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Panthers
The Green Bay Packers host Carolina in week 15; here are the strengths and weaknesses of the 2020 Panthers.
There is a reason why we love sports; there are no guarantees. No matter the matchup, there are professionals on both teams, which is how games each and every week stay interesting. The NFL perhaps has the most parody of any major professional sports league in the United States.
In this article, I will look at the strengths that the Carolina Panthers have to potentially exploit against the Green Bay Packers and also the weaknesses the Panthers have that the Packers can potentially exploit.
Panthers Strengths
The area that the Panthers are best at is on the offensive side of the football with plenty of talent. Teddy Bridgewater is having a good season in Carolina this year and is second in the NFL in completion percentage only behind Drew Brees in New Orleans. Bridgewater is also 14th in the NFL in passer rating while being 12th in Football Outsiders DVOA metric.
The Panthers are also talented at the wide receiver position, with receivers like DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, and Curtis Samuel. These receivers can generate big plays at any time. Among receivers, Anderson is tied for the ninth-most big plays in the league in 2020 with 15 plays of 20+ yards according to ESPN. Moore is not far behind with 14 such plays. On top of those two, Samuel is making big plays on a consistent basis as well. Football Outsiders ranks all three of these receivers in the top 40 in their DYAR metric.
This means that the Green Bay Packers will look to both Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan to have bounce-back games against the Panthers. Sullivan had a PFF ($) grade of 43.2 against the Lions, while King had his worst game of the season against the Lions, according to PFF, with an overall defensive grade of 29.5. In order to keep this Panthers offense under control, King and Sullivan will need to step up., and of course, we expect Jaire Alexander to continue playing at a high level.
Panthers Weaknesses
Once a strength for the Panthers has now become a weakness for them, as the defense has struggled throughout the majority of the season. The Panthers have given up the 20th most points per game, and according to Football Outsiders DVOA metric and PFF’s grading system, the Panther defense ranks 27th and 28th, respectively.
Perhaps the biggest weakness for this Panthers defense is against opposing passing attacks. The Panthers give up 250.8 yards per game in the air, which ranks the 23rd worst in the league. The advanced metrics from Football Outsiders and PFF have the Panthers ranked even lower. PFF has a coverage grade for each team, with the Panthers sitting at 38.0 and ranking 29th. Per Football Outsiders, the Panthers are ranked 27th in pass defense DVOA.
However, there is one area that the Panthers’ defense is good at, that being getting after the quarterback. PFF ranks them as the 11th best pass rush in the league, which is eight spots above the Packers in pass rush grades.
The worst part about this matchup for the Panthers is that they are facing the best or second-best offense in the league on Saturday, depending on what metric you look at. This passing offense, in particular, is difficult to stop; with an MVP candidate at quarterback, a top 10 running back, a top offensive line, and perhaps the best receiver in football, it will make it very hard for the Panthers to slow down this Packers passing attack enough to win this week 15 matchup.