What a difference a QB makes: Grading Panthers in Dalton’s dominant outing vs. Raiders

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What a difference a quarterback can make.

Just six days after Andy Dalton was named the Carolina Panthers’ new starting quarterback, head coach Dave Canales led his team to its first win of 2024.

And while Monday’s decision to bench second-year QB Bryce Young was a somewhat controversial move, the switch to Dalton paid immediate dividends for the Panthers (1-2) during the 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders (1-2) Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

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The Panthers offense came out swinging and kept its foot on the gas with 26 unanswered points. The defense put the Raiders’ offense in a vice for most of the game. And the special teams unit supported both sides of the ball with efficient execution.

That complementary football provided a spark for a team that badly needed it.

With national talking heads burying the David Tepper-owned franchise throughout the week, Canales and his coaching staff had a ton of pressure on them to deliver. And that group, along with the Carolina roster, responded with a demolition of the hosting Raiders.

Here is how each unit graded out in the blowout win in the desert:

Andy Dalton, Panthers pass offense vs. Raiders

The difference with Dalton was felt immediately in the passing game. How good was he? Dalton became the first quarterback this NFL season to pass for 300 or more yards and three touchdowns.

After going 2-for-22 on third down in their first two games, the Panthers converted Dalton’s first third-down opportunity on the opening series. The veteran QB connected with wideout Adam Thielen on a pass that produced a new set of downs. From there, Dalton flung a 17-yard strike to wideout Diontae Johnson, and he later connected with tight end Tommy Tremble for a 20-yard pickup down the seam. Dalton finished the drive with a 6-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to running back Chuba Hubbard.

The passing score stopped a 20-game streak of opening drives without a touchdown for Carolina. The touchdown was also the first from the passing attack on the season.

Dalton kept the passing game going in the second quarter.

He completed passes of 23 and 35 yards on back-to-back plays while targeting Johnson and rookie wideout Xavier Legette on the offense’s second series. He then capped that drive with a 5-yard floater to Johnson for a touchdown.

Dalton targeted seven different receivers in the first half.

Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik crafted an excellent play on second-and-11 with the Panthers’ backs against their own end zone in the second quarter. Dalton hit wideout Jonathan Mingo for a 15-yard catch-and-run jaunt that was made possible by excellent blocking from his fellow playmakers. The Panthers didn’t end up prolonging the drive much beyond that successful play, but it was still a strong showing from the play-caller and the play-designer.

The Panthers were able to get the ball back with 1:12 left in the second quarter following a phenomenal stand by the defense. Starting at the Carolina 32-yard line, Dalton let the ball fly after two poor plays. He connected with Johnson for a 35-yard gain on third-and-8. The play developed after Johnson shook coverage, turned up field, evaded additional defenders and made it out of bounds to stop the clock.

The final highlight of the first half came on a 31-yard strike from Dalton to Thielen. While the veteran wideout was injured on the play, Dalton connected with him for a touchdown completion with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter. It was Dalton’s third passing touchdown of the half, which, in turn, were the first three passing touchdowns of the season for Carolina.

The Panthers took a 21-7 lead to their locker room in Las Vegas.

Dalton finished the first half with 212 passing yards and three touchdowns. He completed 15 of 22 passes (68.2%) for a passer rating of 138.6 at halftime. He was sacked on a pair of protection busts — for a loss of 13 yards — where it seemed like there was confusion between the blockers on the plays.

Thielen, who left the game with a hamstring injury after his touchdown catch, snagged three passes for 40 yards and a score in the first two quarters.

Dalton continued to toss the rock around the field in the second half. He led a fourth scoring drive with a few short passes in the third quarter. A 16-yard connection between Dalton and Johnson got the Panthers in range for a 43-yard field goal to add to their total.

A pair of big receiving gains by Johnson and running back Miles Sanders helped the Panthers get in position for another field-goal score. The Panthers more than doubled their scoring total from the first two games of the season with 4:46 left in the third quarter against the Raiders. A 35-yard field goal pushed the score to 27-7 at that point.

Johnson finished the game with eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets. Tremble caught three passes for 29 yards. Hubbard made five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown, while Legette hauled in two passes for 42 yards.

Dalton finished the with a 123.6 passer rating after completing 26 of 37 passes (70.3%) for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He led seven scoring drives on the day.

Grade: A

Chuba Hubbard, run offense vs. Las Vegas

Hubbard continued to churn out yards on the ground in the desert. Along with scoring on a catch and run on the opening series, Hubbard picked up 39 yards on his first six carries, averaging 6.5 yards per tote on the Panthers’ first two drives.

Hubbard continued to prevent negative plays throughout the first half. While he was stopped at the line on one carry, he picked up 50 rushing yards on 10 totes in the first half. The entire offense had 57 yards on 13 carries (4.4 yards per carry).

Hubbard was essential to the Panthers’ game of keep-away offense in the second half. He rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries in the final two quarters, keeping drives prolonged and running out the clock in the process.

Sanders, the backup running back, chipped in 12 second-half rushing yards and a touchdown on five carries as well.

The entire offense produced 133 rushing yards and a touchdown on 29 carries (4.6 YPC) in the game before Dalton lined up in the victory formation.

Grade: A

Jaycee Horn, pass defense vs. Raiders

After holding the Raiders in check on the first series of the game, the Panthers gave up a huge passing play to QB Gardner Minshew on Las Vegas’s second drive. Minshew fired a 54-yard shot to wideout Tre Tucker, who was able to snag the ball between the coverage of cornerback Mike Jackson and safety Xavier Woods. The big play set the Raiders up for their first scoring series of the game as the first quarter dwindled down.

After the Panthers’ offense answered on their third series of game, the defense locked in. While Jackson struggled in coverage during parts of the first half, he was able to make a huge play on fourth down against rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Minshew targeted Bowers up the seam, and Jackson was able to knock the ball out of the tight end’s hands for a turnover on downs.

The successful play for the defense put the offense on the Las Vegas 39-yard line with just under seven minutes left in the first half.

The Raiders were able to get the ball back after a failed drive by the Panthers’ offense in the second quarter. Cornerback Jaycee Horn was called for pass interference on a play against wideout Davante Adams, who was mostly held in check in the first half. Nickel cornerback Troy Hill was able to make a fantastic play on third down off a pass from Minshew to Adams, knocking it out of his hands and forcing the Raiders to punt.

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit continued to be a force against the pass to close out the first half. Defensive lineman Jayden Peevy picked up the Panthers’ first sack of the game with 1:45 left in the second quarter. Las Vegas eventually faced a third-and-23 situation, and the Panthers were able to force the Raiders off the field following a short gain.

Minshew completed 8 of 14 passes for 117 yards in the first half. He had a 84.5 passer rating and was sacked once in the first half.

The Panthers continued to put pressure on Minshew in the third quarter. With the Panthers taking a 24-7 lead early in the second half, the defense was able to pin its ears back and rush the QB. Defensive end LaBryan Ray was able to collect the second sack of the game for Carolina on the second series of the third quarter.

Minshew, down 20 points in the third quarter, was forced to unload passes throughout the second half.

Jackson — a fill-in starting cornerback who was acquired in the preseason for seventh-round pick, rookie linebacker Mike Barrett — picked off Minshew in the fourth quarter to essentially wrap up the game.

Minshew was eventually pulled for Aidan O’Connell, who was almost immediately sacked by veteran pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.

Minshew finished with a 84.5 passer rating after completing 18 of 28 passes for 214 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the game. O’Connell produced a late passing touchdown on a connection with Tucker.

Adams, an All-Pro, finished with just 40 yards on four catches, despite being targeted eight times.

Grade: B

Jadeveon Clowney, run defense vs. Las Vegas

The Raiders took advantage of a mistake by the referees in the first quarter.

After Minshew was given a first-down conversion on a scramble — which on replay was clearly a poor spot — the Raiders rushed to the line of scrimmage and gave a handoff to running back Alexander Mattison — who ran into the endzone for a touchdown — before the Panthers could challenge the placement of the ball.

The rushing touchdown capped a 97-yard scoring drive for Las Vegas.

The Raiders headed to halftime with 41 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries (3.4 YPC) in the first half.

The Panthers run defense continued to mitigate big gains in the third quarter. On fourth-and-1 in the middle of the third quarter, the defensive front plugged holes when Minshew tried a QB sneak. That stop led to a turnover on downs.

With the Raiders trailing mightily in the second half, the Raiders moved away from the running game. The unit finished with just 55 total yards and a touchdown on 16 carries in the game.

Grade: B+

Eddy Piñeiro, special teams vs. Raiders

The special teams unit got off to an excellent start. Legette picked up 30 yards on the opening kickoff, and punter Johnny Hekker and his coverage unit were able to pin the Raiders on their own 3-yard line on the opening punt of the game.

Running back Raheem Blackshear had a swift 16-yard gain on a punt return at the end of the second quarter to give the offense a chance to score before halftime.

Hekker finished with four punts for an average of 44.3 yards per attempt. Two tries were downed within the opposing 20-yard line.

Kicker Eddy Piñeiro connected on all three of his extra-point attempts. He also made three chip-shot field-goal attempts.

Grade: A

Overall grade vs. Las Vegas

This game was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Carolina faithful.

Canales called an excellent game, his coordinators delivered, and his players performed about as well anyone could have imagined. This franchise has been a punching bag for the past 18 months, and in the desert, they finally showed that they can be — at least — competent with a QB who can execute.

The #DaltonDifference was real in this one. The veteran passer was fantastic, and his playmakers responded to his accuracy and efficiency. The defense and special team units followed suit after realizing they wouldn’t need to play from behind for an entire game.

It was an excellent outing for Johnson, Hubbard, Legette and Tremble on offense. On defense, Ray, Peevy, Jackson, Horn, and Thompson delivered.

Those performances were reflective of the strong showings from training camp that were documented by The Charlotte Observer throughout the summer.

While no one saw this shellacking coming from a previously woeful squad, Canales and company now have something to show for the head coach’s unwavering positive attitude.

Next week, the Panthers will host the Cincinnati Bengals — Dalton’s team during his first nine NFL seasons — and Bank of America Stadium might have a bit more juice than its had over the previous nine home games.

Overall grade: A