The Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans will kick off week 3 of the 2021 NFL season on Thursday, September 23rd, on the NFL Network. This will be the sixth meeting between the two teams dating back to November 2, 2003. The Panthers are currently on a three-game win streak against the Texans and will be looking to continue their dominance.
Carolina Panthers
For the first time since 2017, the Carolina Panthers have started the season off with a 2-0 record. Their quest for 3-0 will not be an easy one as injuries to key players may cause the panthers some concerns.
As of September 21st, according to ESPN.com, the Panthers have four new players listed on the Injury Reserve list after the conclusion of week two. Three players are listed as questionable, and one is out for week three.
Guard Pat Elflein has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury. While on the defensive side of the ball, right defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos is listed as questionable.
In Gross-Matos’s first two games of the 2021 regular season, he has 3 tackles and 2 solo tackles.
Quarterback(QB) Sam Darnold has been playing extremely well, completing 50 out of 73 passing attempts for a total of 584 passing yards(11th amongst QB). Darnold is also tied at second for the least amount of interceptions.
This is great news for Panthers fans because Darnold is showing the Panthers they were right to trade for him and move on from Teddy Bridgwater.
In the 2020 season, Darnold was tied at 106 in most interceptions thrown with Bridgewater and a number of other QB’s. Darnold also was ranked 28th in passing yards last season, while Bridgewater was ranked 17th.
On JWALSPORTS, my co-host and I agreed before the trade happened that Darnold needed a new home to hit that reset button on his NFL career. Not just any team. He needs to go to a team that could protect him and not have him scrambling for his life every snap, as we see with Zach Wilson.
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have been the most talked-about team since Deshaun Watson, and JJ Watt asked to be traded from the organization. The organization decided to release Watt from the team while they denied Watsons’ trade request.
The Houston Texans are literally falling apart, as they have six key players on the IR list. The most concerning person on that list is QB Tyrod Taylor. Taylor was acquired during the 2021 offseason since Watson was threatening to sit out the entire season. In his first two starts with the Texans, he totals 416 passing yards completing 70.5% of his passes. Joining Taylor on the IR list is wide receiver Nico Collins and Danny Amendola who are unlikely to play Thursday.
For the Texans’ defense Cornerback Terrance Mitchell, Line Backer Kamu Grungier-Hill, and Safety Justin Reid are listed as questionable for Thursday’s game. Combined, they total 26 tackles, two interceptions, and three tackles for loss.
Staring for the Texans at QB will be rookie Davis Mills. Mills was drafted in the third round out of Stanford University. Although this will be Mills first start as an NFL Quarterback, it will not be his first time seeing action on the field. Sunday against the Cleveland Browns Davis played every drive in the second half that lead him to a total of 102 passing yards completing 8 of 18 throws, throwing one Touchdown and one Interception.
Both of these teams have significant Injuries that could sway the tied of the game, but the Carolina Panthers still have the three-headed monster(Robby Anderson, DJ Moore, and Christian McCaffery) on the offensive side of the ball the Panthers will come out victorious.
For more NFL coverage, click here.
