The Carolina Panthers are sitting at 2-2, but the way they’re moving the ball, they look much closer to a team headed toward its first winning season since 2017.
That’s the shift. Last year, Carolina’s offense was stuck in neutral - it ran the 22nd-most plays in the league and ranked 27th in yards per play. This season, the Panthers are pushing the pace and getting real production out of it.
They’re 3rd in plays per game, 3rd in pass attempts per game, and 5th in yards per play.
Bryce Young has been right at the center of it. He’s 1st in yards per game, 3rd in completed air yards per attempt, and 7th in intended air yards per attempt. Tet McMillian is showing no sign of a sophomore slump, and the passing game hasn’t been a one-man operation either, with Jalen Coker sitting 17th in yards per game.
At this point, Carolina looks like the likely winner of the NFC South, and this time it’s not just because the division has to give somebody the crown.
The matchup talk also looks a lot different than it did when the schedule dropped. The Eagles were coming back from London, with the Cowboys waiting two weeks later, and Carolina was coming off its bye with what looked like a huge scheduling edge. It had all the makings of a trap game.
Now the script has flipped. If anyone is walking into danger, it might be the Eagles. Carolina gets an extremely winnable division game next week at home against the Bucs, which only makes the turn even more dramatic.
That’s part of why the college football board suddenly matters more too. The Eagles are currently picking 10th, and with their starting quarterback about to miss a couple of games, the draft picture is no longer some far-off exercise.
At 12:00, Ohio State faces Indiana, and Jeremiah Smith is the obvious headliner. The Eagles probably won’t take back-to-back receivers in the first round, but Smith is the kind of talent who can force the issue if the slide keeps going. Indiana’s Charlie Becker is in the mix too as a physical, vertical threat - exactly the kind of receiver the Eagles don’t have enough of.
At 3:30, Missouri meets Ole Miss, where defensive tackle Will Echoles is worth keeping an eye on. He’s listed at 6’3” and 315 pounds, and his burst off the snap stands out.
Ole Miss has even used him as a stand-up edge rusher at times. The talent is obvious, but the consistency isn’t always there.
He flashed against LSU, then Ole Miss as a team came back down hard against Florida and got blown out. Later, he said it was because of “a lack of violence,” which is the kind of line that works both ways - exactly the mindset you want from a defensive tackle, and also a little alarming if it means he didn’t show up ready to unleash it.
Then at 7:30, Notre Dame travels to BYU, where cornerback Leonard Moore might be the best defensive prospect in the draft. Corner isn’t a major Eagles need, but prospects like this have a way of ignoring team need.
Moore checks every box: size, speed for a 6’2” corner, versatility, man coverage skills, and real production with 5 INTs last year. He may even end up wearing the unwanted label of “safest pick in the draft.”
Uh oh.
In Other News...
Jalen Hurts Backlash Just Added Another Layer To Eagles Concern
Jalen Hurts absence already landed hard in Philadelphia because of the medical seriousness behind it, and now the discussion around his injury has spilled into another layer of noise. The Eagles quarterback is sidelined after doctors found a blood clot that had moved, a development serious enough to keep him out at least against the Panthers, and the team has had to absorb the uncertainty without one of its defining players.
Former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson only made the backdrop noisier when he questioned the injury circumstances on NFL Network, drawing a sharp public response from Robert Griffin III. Griffin pushed back on Robinsons remarks while also praising Drake Mayes recent play for New England, but for the Eagles, the larger issue remains the one they cannot shortcut: Hurts health and the wait to see how long this situation will keep him off the field. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Just Sent A Complicated Signal On Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts being sidelined indefinitely has put the Eagles in an awkward spot, even as the team tries to keep its quarterback available for as long as possible. The injury, a superficial blood clot in his calf, is serious enough to pause his on-field work, but Philadelphia is not taking the next step that would lock him into a longer absence.
What makes the situation more complicated is the timing. The issue was already known by Week 4, and while medical experts believe Hurts could miss more than a month, the Eagles are leaving the door open rather than shutting it completely. For a team trying to navigate the next stretch without its starter, that means the focus shifts from a clean timeline to an uncertain wait that could stretch toward late October or early November. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Hurts Drew Serious Backlash Over How His Health Was Discussed
Jalen Hurts health became the center of an ugly and unnecessary debate this week after an NFL Network analyst floated the idea that the Eagles quarterback could be using a blood clot to dodge blame for the teams offensive struggles. Michael Robinson later acknowledged he is not a medical expert, but his remarks still minimized the seriousness of a condition that has kept Hurts status in the spotlight and added another layer of noise around a season already under a microscope.
The reaction was swift, with former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III publicly pushing back and stressing that this is not the kind of issue that should be handled casually. For Philadelphia, the episode was another reminder of how quickly concerns about Hurts can spill beyond the field, especially when the conversation turns from football to health and the line between criticism and irresponsibility starts to blur. [Read more 🡒]