Good And Bad From Big Panthers Win On Thursday.

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THE GOOD

  • The Panthers defense was dismantling the leagues number one offense through the first three quarters, helping Carolina get to 23-6 leading heading into the fourth quarter. 
  • Mario Addison continues to prove his consistency in a contract year after getting two more sacks against the Saints ,putting him at 6.5 this season. He was second in sacks in 2014 (6.5) and 2015 (6) despite not even playing 50% of the snaps. Addison played 37% of defensive stats last night. He will have plenty of opportunity to add to his total with six games remaining.
  • Speaking of pass rush, the Panthers are now tied with the Buffalo Bills for first in the NFL in sacks at 30. In the their four games since the bye week, Carolina has gained 18 of those sacks.
  • After gifting Marcus Peters with a late game turnover that set the Chiefs up with their game winning field goal last week, Kelvin Benjamin came up with a huge first down catch late in the fourth on a third and long. Benjamin had three catches for 56 yards, none bigger than that last one. A play the Panthers have struggled to get late in games this season to put teams away.

THE BAD

  • As great as Carolina's defense was through the first three quarters, it was equally bad (again) in the fourth.
  • The Saints scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter that brought the final to within three points again, this time in the Panthers favor.
  • The offense didn't do much to help the offense in the fourth quarter either. The Panthers offense put up a miserable 27 yards total in the fourth quarter, 18 coming on that ever-so important first down to Benjamin.
  • The Panthers run game was absent once again totaling just 51 yards on the night. Carolina couldn't run the ball in the fourth quarter when they needed to the most to kill the clock. They had just 14 yards rushing in the fourth quarter on four drives.

It goes without saying how emotional of a scene it was when Luke Keuchly was carted into the concussion protocol.

Visibly scared, Keuchly took a friendly shot to the head from Thomas Davis while also taking a helmet to the chest from the Saints running back. The chest shot (we are hoping) just knocked the air out of Keuchly and made a scary scene worse.

It will be something to monitor closely as Luke missed a month with a concussion last season he sustained week one against Jacksonville.

Other injuries include Ryan Kalil aggravating his shoulder, Addison with a leg injury, and Leonard Johnson also left with a chest injury. Panthers get a mini-bye week before two brutal weeks on the road in Oakland and then Seattle.

Written By Tripp Morgan, Follow him on Twitter @TrippMorgan6

Thumbnail image credit Jesse Fraetis at www.fraetisphotography.com