Remember when safety Tre Boston led the Carolina Panthers in sacks heading into the bye?

The pass rush sure has come a long way since then.

After bringing down Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers five times on Sunday, the Panthers vaulted into the NFL lead with 39 sacks, one ahead of the Broncos.

"(Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott) had a really good game plan and he did a nice job," coach Ron Rivera said. "I liked the way he called the game. He brought some really timely pressures. He used everybody today, too. He brought corners a couple times, brought the nickel and used the safeties and the linebackers.

"I thought early on in the game, the way he mixed it up really kind of got Philip off balance a little bit. I thought that was very instrumental in us taking the lead the way we did."

With defensive end Charles Johnson sidelined with a sore hamstring, the Panthers needed Kawann Short to pick up some of the slack.

He did.

As Short split snaps on the inside and on the edge, he ended the Chargers' first two drives with sacks. The second included a nice bonus — a fumble that was pounced on by defensive end Wes Horton.

"(Short) gave us some really good push when we needed it for the most part," Rivera said.

Rivera/McDermott Era

Year	Sacks
2011	31
2012	39
2013	60
2014	40
2015	44
2016	39

"We put him back inside and he was really stout at the point for us, made some plays and was explosive."

The Panthers' three other sacks broke down like this:

• The first of the season for defensive end Ryan Delaire
• A strip-sack for linebacker A.J. Klein, whose last sack came 364 days ago
• Defensive end Mario Addison returning from a foot injury to raise his team-leading sack total to 7.5 with the Panthers' first safety since 2012

 

 

"For those two weeks, you definitely miss Mario," Horton said. "Mario is our third-down, go-to guy. To have him back in the lineup, I think it kind of put a spark in everybody."

It's not a coincidence the resurgent pass rush has coincided with Addison's rise. He wasn't credited with a sack when the Panthers took down Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer eight times in Week 8, but he provided plenty of pressure that day. Since then, he's totaled five sacks in four games. Meanwhile, the Panthers, who had just 12 sacks in their first six games, have exploded for 27 in their past seven.

In a season of full of surprises, at least this one is pleasant for the Panthers.