The Carolina Panthers dug deep to get their season up and running against the Las Vegas Raiders. It was a sensational turnaround following a difficult week for the franchise. This was also a great relief for head coach Dave Canales, who got a tremendous response from his players in the face of significant adversity.
Morale was diminishing rapidly among the fanbase after two straight losses to begin the campaign. Benching quarterback Bryce Young was a franchise-altering move from Canales, who needed to restore faith in the locker room and do what he felt was right to avoid things spiraling further out of control.
This brought fresh hope that better days are ahead. It won’t be easy next time out against the Cincinnati Bengals, but there are some winnable games upcoming if the same trend continues. Carolina is also benefitting greatly from a much improved offensive line, which was nothing short of dominant once again en route to a convincing triumph at Allegiant Stadium.
It’s early days, but the money allocated to Robert Hunt in free agency already looks like a sound investment. The interior presence has been almost flawless to begin the campaign. His mobility and assured pass protection have been a revelation. The player’s partnership with offensive tackle Taylor Moton on the right-hand side already looks like one of the league’s best.
Robert Hunt urged Carolina Panthers’ fans to be proud after Week 3 win
Hunt issued a passionate rallying cry to fans following Carolina’s convincing success over the Raiders. He urged supporters to turn up in their numbers next weekend, take the comical brown bags off their heads, and get behind this project during a crucial early transition.
“It is what it is, you know. People are gonna talk about us regardless. We’re the Panthers. It hasn’t been pretty for us, you know what I mean? But hopefully, that can open a lot of eyes. We’ve got talent. We’ve got talent, but we’ve got to put it together. It was a good stepping stone to do that and hopefully, next week at home in The Bank, y’all come out there and don’t run away. Take those damn brown bags off and let’s try to get this thing going man. It’s a long season, you know what I’m saying? So let’s just keep this thing rolling.”
Carolina’s long-suffering fanbase has gone through more hardship than most since David Tepper bought the Panthers from Jerry Richardson. They’re tired of being the laughingstock and a constant embarrassment. Whether this is the start of a tide turning remains to be seen, but it’s captured the imagination if nothing else.
Winning cures all. The Panthers haven’t done much of that in recent years. Canales trusted his process and all it took was Andy Dalton coming in under center to see things starting to bear fruit.
It’s only one game and there is a lot of hard work ahead. Nobody will know that more than Canales, who remained resolute and is putting the team’s best interests above all else. Hunt believes that something special is building. They just need to restore confidence in themselves and belief among the fanbase.
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