The Panthers had looked listless throughout their first two games, scoring just 13 total points in blowout losses to the Saints and Chargers.
But after benching 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young for Andy Dalton, Carolina was the one coming away with a blowout victory.
Dave Canales got the first win of his head coaching career, as the Panthers defeated the Raiders in Las Vegas, 36-22.
Dalton was excellent, finishing the contest 26-of-37 for 319 yards with three touchdowns — good for a 123.6 passer rating.
After ending the first two weeks with 193 and 159 total yards, respectively, Carolina finished Sunday with 437. The club had 24 first downs, finishing 5-of-12 on third down.
All three of Dalton’s touchdown passes came in the first half, as he capped the opening possession with a 6-yard touchdown to running back Chuba Hubbard. Then he hit receiver Diontae Johnson for a 5-yard score in the second quarter. And Dalton capped a two-minute drill with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen, putting Carolina up 21-7 at halftime.
The Panthers extended their lead with a pair of field goals by Eddy Piñeiro and a 1-yard touchdown run by Miles Sanders, going up 33-7 with 13:33 left in the contest.
While the Raiders scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Jakobi Meyers, Minshew tossed an interception to cornerback Mike Jackson on a play that looked like a miscommunication with Davante Adams.
After that, the Raiders inserted Aidan O’Connell at quarterback to finish the game. He tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tre Tucker and Las Vegas went for an onside kick. But they did not recover it.
Minshew finished 18-of-28 for 214 yards with a touchdown and an interception. O’Connell was 9-of-12 for 82 yards with a touchdown.
With Johnson’s 122 yards on eight catches, he became the first Panthers receiver with at least 100 yards in 13 games. Hubbard also finished with 114 yards on 21 carries.
Thielen injured his hamstring on his 31-yard catch and had to miss the rest of the game.
Raiders safety Marcus Epps went down late in the third quarter and missed the rest of the game with a knee injury.
Now at 1-2, the Panthers will come home to take on the Bengals in Week 4.
The 1-2 Raiders will stay home to host the Browns next Sunday.
