The Panthers scored the first points of Sunday’s game in Denver, but any thoughts of an upset didn’t take long to disappear.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix led three touchdown drives in the second quarter and the Panthers offense was held in check after their game-opening scoring drive until they scored with seconds to play. Nix also ran for a touchdown and the Broncos rolled to a 28-14 home win that pushes their record to 5-3 on the season.
Nix had some rough outings early in the season, but the first-round pick now has seven touchdown passes and one interception over the last four weeks. He was 28-of-37 for a season-high 284 yards on the day and he had several positive connections with tight end Adam Trautman and wide receiver Courtland Sutton over the course of the afternoon. He completed passes to ten Broncos overall, so there are a lot of options for Nix to use as he runs the offense.
The Broncos have to feel good about how things are shaping up for the back half of the schedule. They’re firmly in the playoff race in the AFC and they’ll get a good measuring stick of how that push will play out when they visit the Ravens next Sunday.
The Panthers are nowhere close to the playoff race and one has to wonder if they’ll turn back to second-year quarterback Bryce Young for an extended stretch at some point in the coming weeks. Young wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but he wasn’t as bad as he’s been in some of his previous starts either and the Panthers’ injury-depleted receiving corps didn’t give him much to work with in Denver.
Young finished the day 24-of-37 for 224 yards, two touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions. If the Panthers aren’t planning to trade him ahead of this year’s deadline, it would make sense for them to get a fuller evaluation of his play as Andy Dalton is a known commodity and they need to come up with a firm plan for addressing the position come the offseason.
Dalton’s thumb injury will play a role in any quarterback decision for the Saints’ visit to Carolina next Sunday and it’s shaping up to be another long season in Charlotte no matter which way things go.
