Fansided

Surprises and shocks from Week 2 of the NFL season

By Andrew Garda

Sep 14, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Levi
Sep 14, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Levi /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Sep 14, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) calls signals at the line in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defeated the Lions 24-7 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) calls signals at the line in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defeated the Lions 24-7 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Carolina over Detroit: Is there a “D” in Detroit?

The Carolina Panthers didn’t look terribly impressive in their win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, so I suppose we overlooked what they could do.

Really, we may have been overlooking them all offseason, since most of us assumed the offense would be a wreck due to the shaky receiving corps. So far though, both Cam Newton and Derek Anderson have done a good job spreading the ball around and Newton managed 281 yards spreading the ball out to seven different targets.

He did this while getting sacked four times and with some still-healing ribs as well.

The Lions defense was almost a non-factor. Ndamukong Suh had zero impact, the secondary was not able to shut down a passing game they should have been able to (given there was zero threat of run most of the day) and overall the team couldn’t keep up with a fairly one-dimensional offense.

Speaking of offense, the Lions looked way too much like the 2013 Lions as they went up and down the field but couldn’t get into scoring position.

I’m not sure what to make of the Lions right now, though in the end, maybe we just undersold the Panthers too much.

I expected this to be more of a game and I expected the Lions to win—I sure as heck expected them to score more than once.

Home/Carolina Panthers