Carolina Panthers: Win over Dolphins shows both positives and mistakes

The Carolina Panthers pulled out their second preseason win on Friday as they defeated the Miami Dolphins at home.

On Friday evening, the Carolina Panthers earned their second win of the preseason as they defeated the Miami Dolphins, 27-20. As with every other preseason game to come and that have passed, there’s both positive and negative takeaways from the game.

Even though the Panthers are 2-0 this preseason, there are a few different areas of concern that have come out of various places in this unit. Either way, Carolina continued to build momentum into the season with their second win in a row.

Offensively, the Panthers got off to a slow start for the second week in a row. Three quarterbacks appeared in the game with the action split pretty evenly between the three. As a group, they completed 17-of-26 passes, continuing the trend of increasing their completion percentage with more efficient passes. Cam Newton had the only passing touchdown for the group, while both he and Taylor Heinicke threw an interception.

The big issue that stood out for the offensive unit is that the offensive line gave up three sacks, losing 21 total yards. Injuries and losing key players during the offseason have created clear holes on the front line.

With Matt Kalil working through an injury, this is yet another concern for a group that was probably going to be the biggest weakness for the team this season. Even though the rushing game is performing well, the group is struggling to protect the quarterback and that will become a concern as the season drags on.

Christian McCaffrey continues to excel as he earned 120 yards from scrimmage on five carries and four receptions. The highlight came on his 71-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter. He wasn’t the only youthful bright spot as many of Carolina’s receivers appeared in the game, adding diversity in the passing attack, an area in which Carolina has struggled during the last few years. It will be interesting to see who stands out in the remaining two games to make the final roster.

Defensively, Carolina performed better than in the first game last week. They held the Dolphins to only a 16 percent conversion rate on third downs and garnered two sacks. The Panthers secondary is still looking to improve and find which players are going to stand out in the group. The group allowed 225 yards through the air on 30 completions. Collectively, Carolina continued to excel in stopping the run, allowing only 109 yards on the ground compared to the 226 the team gained on their own.

The preseason continues with the Panthers bringing in the New England Patriots for the next game on Friday. With each gam,e there seems to be more questions that are pushed to the forefront, but there aren’t any prevailing answers to the problems facing the Carolina Panthers. While there are positive things to look forward to, such as the way McCaffrey is transitioning as the main weapon in the Panthers running game, there are still issues that need to be rectified if Carolina is going to return to the post season this year.