Risers and Fallers in Week 6’s Loss to the Miami Dolphins

Which Panthers saw their stocks rise and fortunes fall in Week 6?

• By
  
  D.A. Sweat
  
• on October 17, 2023 8:00 am

The Carolina Panthers fell to 0-6 after a predictable road loss to the Miami Dolphins. With Week 6 in the books, here’s what’s rising and falling with the Carolina Panthers.

Risers

Carolina’s first quarter. For one glorious quarter against the Miami Dolphins, the Carolina Panthers actually looked like a capable football team. Through the game’s first 15 minutes the underdog Panthers led 14-0. In the first quarter Carolina ran 20 plays for 139 yards compared to Miami’s seven plays for 42 yards, but things changed quickly after that.

Chuba Hubbard’s case as RB1. As surprising as this may have seemed before the season started, through six games Chuba Hubbard is outplaying 2022 Pro Bowler Miles Sanders. On the season Hubbard has rushed for 242 yards averaging 4.5 yards per carry while Sanders has totaled 190 rushing yards on a meager 3.1 yards per carry. Sanders, who missed Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, might have the prestige and the contract, but thus far Hubbard has the production.

Adam Thielen as the NFL’s smartest WR. I know this sounds like a broken record at this point, but what Adam Thielen is doing is simply remarkable. The 33-year-old plays for a terrible offense and has somehow put up 100-plus yards in three of his last four games, including 11 receptions (on just 13 targets) for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. He’s so smart. Thielen makes getting open look easy, but as every other Panthers receiver can attest, getting open in the NFL ain’t easy.

Johnny Hekker’s street cred. After a punt late in the game, the Panthers veteran punter got into it with Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode. Hekker first shoved his 6-foot-3, 245-pound opponent backward, continued to advance on him, then threw a headbutt. Goode flopped in comical fashion and drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Panthers punter. Hekker also completed a pass in this game, showing opponents that he can beat them with his legs, his arm, and his head.

Fallers

Carolina’s defensive speed. There’s no way to sugarcoat this, but Miami’s speedy skill players made the Panthers defensive backs look downright slow. Credit to Miami’s front office for building an offense that just oozes speed, something that factors heavily into the Dolphins dominant performance thus far. Carolina’s defensive backs were in a no-win situation most of the game. If they pressed coverage, Tyreke Hill and friends just blew by them. If the Panthers secondary gave a cushion, the Dolphins receivers picked them apart on easy catch-and-runs. Now, both of Carolina’s starting safeties and their best cornerback missed this game due to injury, and all of them are needed back as quickly as possible.

Hayden Hurst’s heroics. I was all-in on the Panthers new tight end from the time he signed in Carolina and through the first two games of this season. Through Carolina’s first two contests he had eight receptions on 10 targets for 61 yards and a touchdown. I thought he would just get better from there as he developed more chemistry with Bryce Young. But over the Panthers last four games Hurst has registered just six receptions on 12 targets for 55 yards. A heady, available tight end is supposed to be a rookie quarterback’s security blanket, but for the last several weeks Hurst has left Young blowing in the wind.

The entire NFC South. What a mediocre division. In addition to the Panthers getting annihilated by the Dolphins, the Falcons lost at home to the Commanders, the Saints fell to the Texans, and the Buccaneers managed just six points in their loss to the Lions. None of the four teams in the NFC South have the foundation to become world beaters anytime soon. One of the only silver linings for Panthers fans is every year one of these four uninspiring teams needs to make the playoffs, and none of them are poised to dominate the division in the near term.

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