Panthers face a challenge at Philly
by Sharon Thorsland
The Panthers have been playing some pretty good football recently, but they’ve got their work cut out for them on Sunday when they take on the Eagles in Philadelphia. While they’ve lost two straight to the Chiefs and the Bucs, those losses came on a last second field goal and in overtime – and they’ve certainly shown a lot of progress in those games. Moral victories are not the goal, however, and the Panthers are looking to win when they take on the Eagles. That’s easier said than done, though. The Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now – they’re riding an eight game win streak and are 10-2 on the season thanks to an outstanding running attack and a ferocious defense.
Eagles running back and former Giant Saquon Barkley is having an outstanding season, the Pro Bowler leads the NFL averaging 125 rushing yards per game. He has 1,499 yards on the season to go with 11 touchdowns. Barkley teams with quarterback Jalen Hurts to form the NFL’s top rushing attack that averages 189 yards per game. Hurts has also thrown for nearly 2,500 yards with 14 touchdowns and has 12 more scores on the ground. He’s got two of the best receivers in the game in All-Pro A.J. Brown and former Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith. Together they present quite the challenge for the Panthers, who rank dead last in the league giving up 30.5 points and 167 rushing yards per game.
The good new is Bryce Young has been showing glimpses of why the Panthers drafted him number one overall. The quarterback has been playing well the past four games and has the offense moving in the right direction. But yards and points will be hard to come by against an Eagles defense that ranks number one in the league allowing under 283 yards per game. They’re fourth in points allowed at just 18 a contest, ,and are third against the pass giving up just 178 yards a game.
This is the just the 13th match-up between these teams, with the Eagles holding a 8-4 advantage in the series. The Panthers won the last match-up in Philly back in 2018, and while they know what they’re up against this go-around, after losing their past two games by just a combined six points, they’re looking to finish on top. “We want to win,” said offensive lineman Robert Hunt. “We have a group that’s playing pretty confident right now so we want to win.