In the old days, it was possible to dink and dunk your way to victory with a smart quarterback. These days, defenses are simply too smart and complex—and at some point, you need chunk plays to win.
On that number, the Carolina Panthers are doing as well as any team in the NFL at taking what they're given.
Through four games, no offense has more plays of 10 or more yards and only one is besting them at 20 or more. Saad Yousuf at The Athletic has the details on Carolina's shockingly explosive offense:
The Panthers have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, evidenced by their 67 plays of 10-plus yards being the most in the NFL. Up the threshold to plays of 20-plus yards and the Panthers are still elite, with 20 such plays, behind only
the Bills’ 22. They’re tied for second in completions of at least 20 yards and completions of at least 50 yards.
Quarterback Bryce Young is, of course, responsible for most of this—as he currently ranks second in the NFL of passing plays of 20 or more yards. He's also entered Week 5 as the league's leading passer at 1,268 yards to go along with nine touchdowns and just two interceptions.
This is a massive step up in this department over the last few years for the Panthers, whose offensive personnel is largely the same as last season. As a whole, the unit ranks first in passing offense and fourth in both total and scoring offense.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers riding one of NFL's most explosive offenses
