LA Chargers: Getting to know the Week 3 opponent, the Carolina Panthers
By Devon Auriemma
After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs last week in overtime, the LA Chargers will take on the 0-2 Carolina Panthers in their Week 3 meeting.
The Carolina Panthers are coming into this matchup with an 0-2 record after losing to the Raiders and Buccaneers. In those games, they allowed both teams to score more than 30 points. They will also be without All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey who will miss some time with an ankle injury.
LA Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor had an issue arise before kickoff this past weekend, which led to him going to the hospital and rookie Justin Herbert getting the first start of his NFL career. That issue turned out to be the team doctor accidentally puncturing Taylor’s lung while injecting him for a cracked rib.
In a game that was close throughout, Herbert showed flashes of why the Chargers took him with the 6th pick. While he had a very impressive debut that no one saw coming, there were some mistakes that helped the Chiefs stay in the game and go on to win it in overtime.
As mentioned before, Christian McCaffrey will not be playing in this matchup, which allows Mike Davis to take over the starting role. While this loss is devastating for the Panthers, they still have quite a few solid offensive playmakers like D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel.
Pro Football Focus has the Panthers offense ranked 24th in the league and their defense in last. If the Chargers defense continues to play at a high level, they should walk away from this one with their second win of the season.
LA Chargers vs Carolina Panthers- Last Five Matchups
The Panthers have dominated this matchup with a record of 4-1 over the last five meetings between these two teams, with the Chargers only win coming in December of 2004. However, this Panthers team is not what it used to be a few years ago and without McCaffrey, it will be a tough challenge for the Panthers.