Panthers PFF grades: Best and worst from Week 2 vs. Saints
The Carolina Panthers came up absolute aces in their dominant upset win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. But that’s just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, proverbial school grade.
How about some Pro Football Focus grades instead?
Here’s who the film buffs had as the Panthers’ best and worst performers in the Week 2 victory.
Best of the offense
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
1. WR Brandon Zylstra (89.8) 2. TE Dan Arnold (78.8) 3. WR DJ Moore (76.5) 4. RB Christian McCaffrey (74.3) 5. QB Sam Darnold (73.3) Zylstra apparently made the most out of his 14 offensive snaps, grading out as the unit's top player. He reeled in three catches for 44 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Fellow wideout Moore finds his way here again following a No. 1 finish (81.9) atop the offense last week. McCaffrey and his 137 scrimmage yards, who was oddly left off this group the last time, squeezes in here as well with Darnold rounding it out after another solid outing.
Worst of the offense
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
5. TE Tommy Tremble (49.9) 4. RB Royce Freeman (48.3) 3. RB Chuba Hubbard (45.8) 2. G Dennis Daley (45.3) 1. TE Ian Thomas (35.9) From the penthouse to the outhouse for Thomas. He goes from being ranked second in the offense a week ago (76.8) to dead-last after poor showings in the passing game (34.0) and in pass blocking (34.4). Daley didn't fill in well, at least according to this grade, for an injured Pat Elflein. He put up a 54.1 in pass blocking and 44.0 in the run. The backup backs didn't fare well either, as Hubbard's eight-carry, 10-yard performance helped saddle him down here.
Best of the defense
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
1. LB Jermaine Carter Jr. (88.5) 2. DE Morgan Fox (84.2) 3. S Sean Chandler (77.1) 4. LB Shaq Thompson (74.1) 5. DT DaQuan Jones (72.3) One of the leaders of the defense leads the defense here, as Carter Jr. maximized his 13 snaps. He was solid in nine coverage snaps, grading out at a 78.2. Fox wrecked the Saints over his 26 snaps, producing seven pressures in his 20 tries at quarterback Jameis Winston. Jones added in a pair of pressures of his own, too.
Worst of the defense
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
5. CB Keith Taylor (61.9) 4. DT Daviyon Nixon (58.2) 3. LB Frankie Luvu (56.4) 2. S Juston Burris (54.1) 1. DE Yetur Gross-Matos (52.9) Sunday wasn't a great one for Gross-Matos, as he rolled his ankle and rolled into the bottom spot. He came up with one pressure over nine total snaps. PFF didn't seem to care that Burris led the team in tackles (five) and had an interception. This is now his second straight week in the bottom-five. [listicle id=640843]
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