Despite a slew of injuries to key players, the Carolina Panthers are undeniably on the rise.
Sunday night's upset win over the Detroit Lions showed they can compete and defeat the league's heavyweights. As they head into the bye week tied at the top of the NFC South, their only concern should be getting healthy.
As expected, the Panthers are rising up power rankings around the web as they head into their break. Here's a review of where they stand going into Week 5 . . .
USA Today Sports
Rank: 13 (+8)
Author: Nate Davis
Take: By the conclusion of Sunday night's win over Detroit, they owned the league's No. 1 passing attack. Props to QB Bryce Young for rendering the bust label some had affixed to him premature.
ESPN
Rank: 18 (+4)
Author: Mike Kaye
Take: The Panthers went to
bed Sunday night (or really, Monday morning) with the top passing offense in the NFL. Think about that for a minute: First-year playcaller Brad Idzik and much-maligned QB Bryce Young are running the top aerial attack, which averages 301.3 yards per game. The passing game has helped take the shade off an inconsistent rushing attack and up-and-down defensive performance. Injuries haven't been kind to the defense, so coordinator Ejiro Evero needs to find solutions.
CBS Sports
Rank: 18 (+8)
Author: Pete Prisco
Take: Bryce Young is earning himself a big payday. He was outstanding in the victory over the Lions Sunday night.
Sports Illustrated
Rank: 14 (+9)
Author: Connor Orr
Take: I think nationally, the Panthers conversation got a bit buried in just what, exactly, can be done to fix this Lions defense. In reality, Detroit had been playing better with fewer coverage busts—until Tetairoa McMillan came to town and had his megatron moment in prime time.
The Athletic
Rank: 18 (+6)
Author: Josh Kendall and Chad Graff
Take: Young seems to have taken a major step in his development, and it could be leading to an offseason of talk about just how much money the Panthers will give him to make him their franchise quarterback. As Joe Person wrote Sunday night, Young’s play “should prompt owner David Tepper to dig into his deep pockets and make Young a very rich man.”
Bleacher Report
Rank: 15 (+6)
Author: Gary Davenport
Take: Offensively, the Panthers sometimes look like one of the league's most dangerous offenses. Sunday night's win over the Lions was the third time in four games that Carolina has scored over 30 points. Quarterback Bryce Young isn't just playing the best football of his career—he's playing like a top-10 signal-caller.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Where the Panthers stand in NFL power rankings going into Week 5
