Matt Rhule earned his first NFL win on Sunday, as his Carolina Panthers took down the Los Angeles Chargers, 21-16. Teddy Bridgewater did a nice job making up for Christian McCaffrey's absence, as he passed for 235 yards and a touchdown. Justin Herbert was solid, but certainly not spectacular in his second NFL start. He completed 34 of 48 passes for 321 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but also lost a fumble. There were highs and lows for the Chargers, but the Panthers' consistency ended up being the defining factor in Week 3.
The Chargers did have a chance for a comeback with less than two minutes left, but Herbert and Co. received possession on their own 1-yard line with no timeouts. Still, the rookie took the Chargers all the way into field goal range, but Austin Ekeler mishandled a hook-and-ladder lateral from Keenan Allen while the clock hit triple zeros.
The Panthers did enough for the win but it certainly wasn't pretty. Mike Davis rushed for 46 yards on 13 carries and caught eight passes for 45 yards and a touchdown -- which made up for Christian McCaffrey's absence in some ways. The biggest takeaway was that the Panthers didn't turn the ball over and stuck to their game plan. Settling for field goals isn't a strategy that always translates to wins, but this week it did. If Bridgewater had thrown an interception or another Panthers player lost a fumble, this game may have had a different outcome.
This game always felt close, and turnovers for the Chargers were absolute killers. While all three occurred in the first half, Herbert's interception, fumble and Joshua Kelley's fumble all took away chances for Los Angeles to score in a matchup where points were at a premium. It wouldn't have come down to that final drive if the Chargers had taken better care of the ball during the matchup.
After Joey Bosa got to Bridgewater on third down following the two minute warning, the Chargers were going to get the ball back and a chance to win the game. Panthers punter Joseph Charlton executed his job perfectly, however, as he pinned the Chargers on their own 1-yard line with a 39-yard punt. With Herbert having to operate from deep in his own territory with less than two minutes and zero timeouts, that punt was certainly clutch in securing Carolina's victory.
While Herbert accounted for a couple turnovers and couldn't secure his first victory, he did make some nice plays on Sunday. This one in particular was great, as he found Allen in the back of the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
Herbert hit his star wideout in stride and also threaded the needle between two defenders in limited space. It's clear that the former Oregon signal-caller has a future in this league. Herbert also appears to have helped Allen find his stride a bit, as he has caught 20 passes for 228 yards over the past two contests after recording just four receptions for 37 yards in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals with Tyrod Taylor.
The Panthers will try to keep things going in Charlotte next week, as they host the Arizona Cardinals. As for the Chargers, they travel to Tampa Bay to take on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
That one certainly got interesting in the end, but how consistent the Panthers were today ended up being good enough for Carolina's first win of the season. Thanks for joining us! Check back soon, as we will publish takeaways from Sunday's action.
Herbert hasn't had the best game, but could make up for it all with a game-winning drive here. Chargers scored a touchdown on their last possession, but they don't have any timeouts left.
When do you start looking at the clock here? Chargers picking up a couple of first downs, but they are down 11 points with 7 minutes left.
Herbert fell awkwardly on his left knee there. That didn't look too good. Easton Stick be on the ready!
We usually claim that you can't win games with field goals, but with how these offenses have been performing today, they might. Congrats to you if you started Joey Slye in fantasy. 5/5 now -- but also missed an extra point.
Say it ain't so. Herbert is looking downfield out of the shotgun and the Chargers are picking up chunks of yards. Something else I noticed is that Herbert has great control of his body and can throw on the move.
