Despite the numbers you will see in the box score, this game was pretty much a big pile of steaming crap. Yes, the Panthers won the game, and Sam Darnold looked the part of a franchise quarterback in the second half, but they lost several key players to injuries that appear to be long term. Christian McCaffrey hurt his leg in the first half, Jaycee Horn hurt his leg in the second half, and both players look like they’re going to miss a considerable amount of time.
The Panthers fell apart in the second quarter when CMC went down and allowed the Texans to pull to within one point at the half, but Sam Darnold put the team on his back in the second half, and the Panthers looked more like the team we hoped they would be en route to a convincing 24-9 win.