While I'm still enjoying the win against the Dolphins, it's time to look forward to the Panthers. Let's compare the defenses:
Team | Run Defense | Attempts | Avg./attempt | Total Defense | Scoring Defense |
Carolina | 841 (30) | 152 | 5.5 | 2355 (28) | 26.2 (24) |
Packers | 932 (32) | 201 | 4.6 | 2207 (24) | 21.7 (12) |
The run defense for Carolina is bloated by the 89 yard jaunt by Bernard yesterday, but without that they are still giving up 5 yards a shot. Their total defense is also significantly worse than Packers when considering yards or points. That means nothing except that there are opportunities to attack this vaunted defense of Ron Rivera.
Interestingly, the Carolina offense is outpacing the Packers in passing yards (by ~30/game) while boasting only a meager run offense. Carolina has not made run offense a priority this year (87 yards/game). The Packers' offense has an opportunity to take control of this game so that the dinged up defense can hold serve for a win.