By Associated Press and Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

Are the Carolina Panthers fixed? Is Andy Dalton the second coming of Kurt Warner? We don’t know, but we do know this – for the first time since December 17, 2023 the Carolina Panthers win a football game, beating the Las Vegas Raiders on the road, 36-

36-year-old veteran Andy Dalton stepped in as the starter with the 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young heading to the bench. Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, the first quarterback in the entire NFL to throw for 300+ and 3 touchdowns in the same game this season. Chuba Hubbard had a monster day, running for 114 yards and catching the ball five times for 55 yards and a touchdown. Don’t forget about former Pittsburgh Steeler Diontae Johnson who led the team with eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.

The Carolina defense came to play as well. The Raiders scored 15 points when the game was essentially over in the fourth quarter. The Panthers finished with three sacks, three tackles for loss and one interception. It’s the first road win for the Panthers since Jan. 8, 2023, the final game of the 2022 regular season. It’s the first win for Dave Canales as a head coach.

Now sitting at 1-2 the Panthers will return to Bank of America Stadium next week to host the Cincinnati Bengals.

LIVE UPDATES

4Q / 4:47 remaining, 36-15 Panthers

Another field goal for good measure, Eddy Pineiro hits it from 26 yards out.

4Q / 10:56 remaining, 33-15 Panthers

The Raiders get on the board for the first time since the fourth quarter with Gardner Minshew throwing a 13-yard touchdown to former NC State wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Meyers caught the two-point conversion attempt as well.

4Q / 13:33 remaining, 33-7 Panthers

There are a lot of “first time since” moments in this game for the Panthers. How about this one? It’s the first time Carolina has led in the fourth quarter since Week 17 of the 2022 season. Miles Sanders finds the end zone this time for the Panthers, a short run on 2nd and goal. The two-point conversion was no good, but I think Carolina will live with that.

3Q / 5:00 remaining, 27-7 Panthers

After another drive that put them in Raiders territory, Eddy Pineiro drilled another field goal, this time from 35 yards out. The Panthers looked to be in position to score a touchdown, but several penalty ties forced them into a 3rd and 20 situation.

3Q / 9:59 remaining, 24-7 Panthers

After forcing a punt on the Raiders first possession of the second half, the Panthers keep the offense moving. Dalton finds Johnson for a 16-yard pass, Chubba Hubbard runs for 12 yards and then the drive stalls. Eddy Pineiro makes a 43-yard field goal to extend the Panthers lead.

HALFTIME, 21-7 Panthers

This iteration of the Carolina Panthers is unrecognizable. Andy Dalton has taken this passing offense to heights that haven’t been seen in years, and I don’t say that as hyperbole. Dalton is 15/22 for 212 yards and three touchdowns in just a half of football. Meanwhile, Diontae Johnson and the receivers are making explosive plays in space. Johnson had four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, his longest catch going 35 yards. Adam Thielen capped off a two-minute drive with a 31-yard beauty of a touchdown catch.

The Panthers haven’t lead at halftime in 10 games. The last one came in a week 10 game against the Chicago Bears, Carolina led 10-0 and would eventually lose 16-13.

The Raiders will receive the ball to start the second half.

2Q / 9:28 remaining, Panthers lead 14-7

The Carolina Panthers have now scored two touchdowns (!!) on three drives. The way this offense is flowing with Andy Dalton working is night and day compared to what it looked like in weeks one and two. This time, the Panthers went 75 yards in 10 plays. Andy Dalton is now 10/13 for 124 passing yards and two touchdowns. This time he found Diontae Johnson on an absolute dime of a drag route. He placed the ball perfectly over his shoulder for an easy catch. To put all of this in perspective:

• Before today, Dionate Johnson had five catches for 34 yards. Johnson has three catches for 45 yards through one and a half quarters.
• Rookie first round pick Xavier Legette had 35 receiving yards this season. He has 35 receiving yards so far in this game.

End of the first quarter, 7-7

The Panthers defense was able to force a three-and-out on Las Vegas’ first possession, but quarterback Gardner Minshew had Oakland ready to go on drive No. 2: 10 plays, 97 yards and a 2-yard Alexander Mattison touchdown run. The biggest play came from Minshew on 2nd and 10 on his own 20-yard line: a 54-yard pass to Tre Tucker.

1Q / 10:13 remaining, Panthers lead 7-0

Turns out, Andy Dalton might be able to help the Panthers as the starter. Carolina received the ball to start the game and drove 70 yards on 9 plays to take a 7-0 lead on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders. Dalton went 5/6 for 52 yards and a touchdown pass. Four different receivers caught the ball, including offseason acquisition Diontae Johnson. Running back Chuba Hubbard found pay dirt on a 6-yard pass from Dalton.

The last time the Panthers scored a first quarter touchdown on offense was Oct. 15, 2023 in a 42-21 loss. There was a 6-yard run from Hubbard and an 8-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young to Adam Thielen.

Preview

The Carolina Panthers (0-2) are still in search of its first win of the season, this time with veteran Andy Dalton starting at quarterback. The Panthers travel west to Las Vegas to test their luck against the Raiders (1-1).

The 36-year-old NFL veteran starts in place of 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who was benched after struggling in Carolina’s first two games of the season. Dalton started one game for Young last year while dealing with an injury. He threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns in that 37-27 road loss against the Seahawks.

Follow along for live updates here throughout the game.

Series notes

The Raiders’ first game as Las Vegas’ team was at Carolina in 2000. Jacobs’ 6-yard touchdown run with 4:08 left put the Raiders ahead for good after the Panthers had rallied from 12 points down with two TDs in the fourth quarter. … The past two meetings have been especially high scoring with the Raiders edging Carolina by a combined 69-62.

Stats and stuff

• The Panthers have the worst record in the league since 2018 at 31-70.
• RB Chuba Hubbard had 64 yards rushing on 10 carries in the team’s loss to the Chargers and appears to have a firm grasp on the starting job.
• Dalton has 32 games with at least 300 yards passing in his career.
• Young will serve as Dalton’s backup.
• WR Diontae Johnson, who was brought in to be Carolina’s No. 1 receiver, has just five catches for 34 yards through two games.
• WR Adam Thielen, Carolina’s other starter, has been held to five receptions for 69 yards.
• The Panthers defense has allowed five passing TDs in two games, second most in the league behind the Commanders (6).
• Carolina has scored three points in its past two road games going back to last season.
• Brock Bowers’ 156 yards receiving leads all tight ends.
• Gardner Minshew has completed 55 of 71 passes, his 77.5% tops the league.
• Davante Adams is 50 yards from becoming the 17th player to reach 11,000 receiving yards.
• Maxx Crosby is three sacks from moving into third place in Raiders history. Anthony Smith is in that spot with 57 1/2 sacks.
• Daniel Carlson made all four field-goal attempts against the Ravens, including both kicks from beyond 50 yards. He is 27 of 34 from that distance for his career. Carlson’s 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds provided Las Vegas with the winning points. He has made 17 of 20 field goals in the final two minutes or overtime since becoming a Raider in 2018.

Source: wralsportsfan.com