It's early. Teams have only played two games, and a lot of what looks good now won't look good a month from now. But the Carolina Defense, with 10 sacks and a matchup tomorrow night against Houston and rookie quarterback Davis Mills, looks really good.
A year ago, the Panthers had just 29 sacks, and a bottom-10 pass rush (23rd). They added Haason Reddick in free agency, so that's part of it, but they've also got Brian Burns (pictured) playing very well. Whatever you want to give the most credit to, this is currently the league's No. 1-ranked pass rush. They're not likely to give up that top spot after a game against Mills.
PASS RUSH, 2020-2021 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Defense | Sk(20) | Rk | Sk(21) | Rk |
Carolina Panthers | 29 | 23 | 10 | 1 |
Minnesota Vikings | 23 | 28 | 8 | 2 |
Buffalo Bills | 38 | 15 | 8 | 3 |
Arizona Cardinals | 48 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
New England Patriots | 24 | 26 | 6 | 5 |
L.A. Rams | 53 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 17 | 32 | 6 | 7 |
Washington | 47 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
Seattle Seahawks | 46 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
Chicago Bears | 35 | 17 | 5 | 10 |
San Francisco 49ers | 30 | 22 | 5 | 11 |
Las Vegas Raiders | 21 | 29 | 5 | 12 |
Tennessee Titans | 19 | 30 | 5 | 13 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 56 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
New Orleans Saints | 45 | 8 | 4 | 15 |
Indianapolis Colts | 40 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
N.Y. Jets | 31 | 20 | 4 | 17 |
Atlanta Falcons | 29 | 23 | 4 | 18 |
Detroit Lions | 24 | 26 | 4 | 19 |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 18 | 31 | 4 | 20 |
Houston Texans | 34 | 18 | 3 | 21 |
Kansas City | 32 | 19 | 3 | 22 |
Denver Broncos | 42 | 9 | 3 | 23 |
Baltimore Ravens | 39 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
Los Angeles Chargers | 27 | 25 | 3 | 25 |
Cleveland Browns | 38 | 15 | 3 | 26 |
N.Y. Giants | 40 | 12 | 3 | 27 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 49 | 3 | 3 | 28 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 48 | 4 | 2 | 29 |
Dallas Cowboys | 31 | 20 | 2 | 30 |
Miami Dolphins | 41 | 10 | 2 | 31 |
Green Bay Packers | 41 | 10 | 1 | 32 |
If Carolina is available in your league, definitely worth going out to get and putting right into the lineup tomorrow night.
--Andy Richardson