It appears many who pegged the Panthers as a team on the decline this offseason are starting to realize the sky over Bank of America Stadium never did fall.Off to their best start since 2008, the Panthers are shooting up ‘power rankings’ lists all over the country. And while it’s still extremely early, Panthers fans who had to deal with months of negativity deserve to revel in some of the comeuppance currently being offered.
Click on rankings to reveal media outlets and summaries
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“Carolina scored 18 unanswered points after Detroit took a 7-6 lead. Not a bad debut for Cam Newton (22-of-34 for 281 yards and a touchdown), who gets Pittsburgh next.” — ESPN.com
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“They’re really good. Some teams can exploit what they don’t do well, but not too many.” — Yahoo Sports
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“The defense has done a great job the first two weeks. The pass rush remains the key to that unit.” — CBS Sports
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“Well. Those who think Carolina doesn’t have what it takes to compete for a Super Bowl should consider that the Panthers’ defense has forced six turnovers, given up 21 points and allowed opposing quarterbacks to gain a little more than 5 yards per attempt through two games. That is a certifiable championship-caliber unit, folks.” — NFL.com
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“Cam Newton was less than 100%, while RB DeAngelo Williams and DE Greg Hardy didn’t play Sunday. How are they 2-0?” — USA Today
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“Despite deactivating DE Greg Hardy, the Panthers’ front seven once again proved too dominant, controlling the line of scrimmage throughout against the Lions. In his regular-season debut, Cam Newton showed no signs of rust while delivering a consistent performance. The narrative that Newton lacks reliable weapons seems foolish as Greg Olsen turned four of his six catches into first downs.” — FOX Sports
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“Steadily creeping into powerhouse territory.” — New York Post
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“The Panthers are for real. Their defense allowed 4.6 net yards per pass through the first two weeks of the season and is rated as the second best defensive unit in the league by Pro Football Focus. If Cam Newton can continue to get healthy, they will be hard to stop.” — The Washington Post
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BBR NUGGETS
- From Detroit, a good breakdown of Greg Olsen’s game against the Lions. — MLive
- Jonathan Stewart hasn’t piled up a lot of yards, but he sure has run hard. — Twitter
- Well done, Panthers fans. — WCNC
- Practice squad shuffling. — BBR