Keys To Victory For The Panthers Against The Colts

The Carolina Panthers have made their way to 6-0 on the year by doing whatever it takes to get the win. Another solid win against the Philadelphia Eagles extended their league leading win streak which dates back to last season and has the team set up nicely moving forward.

This week, they’ll face off with the Indianapolis Colts in yet another primetime game, this time on under the lights of Monday Night Football.

The Colts have struggled this year and Andrew Luck has been one of the biggest reasons for that. The quarterback has gone from MVP-hopeful to an injured, poor decision-making mess who has turned the ball over quite a bit.

The offseason moves hyped this team to be one of the NFL’s best but at the near hallway mark of the season they sit at a rough 3-4. They still sit atop a weak AFC South division but right now things are not looking pretty in Indy.

The Panthers will need to do much of the same in order to get the win but here are your keys to victory for Carolina against Indianapolis.

Run, Run, Run

The Panthers number one goal this week should be to run the ball as often as possible. Jonathan Stewart is coming off of his best game of the season and the Colts are coming off of a terrible game defensively against the run. The Panthers play calling has been an underrated aspect of this season and Cam Newton has executed the read option perfectly which has benefited Stewart, himself and the entire offense. With Newton being the threat he is and Stewart being a tough runner, defenses are almost always kept off guard as to who will have the ball. Even a solid dose of Mike Tolbert should be on the menu after a solid game last week. If the Panthers do one thing this week offensively, it needs to be running the football.

Disrupt Luck

The defensive line in Carolina has been good and bad with either incredible performances in getting pressure and bringing down the passer or an essentially nonexistent pass rush. This week against a struggling Luck they’ll need the former. Luck’s struggles come with his decision-making and the best way to disrupt a quarterback’s decision making is to hurry him and force him into bad throws where defensive backs like Josh Norman will be lurking to pick off errant throws. Luck has been a turnover machine since coming into the league but that has been ignored due to his incredible play; but this year it has been the biggest reason for his struggles. The Panthers need consistent pressure to keep Luck out of rhythm and throwing off balanced.

Catch the Ball

What a novel thought for a receiver, huh. Well, for the Panthers rag-tag bunch of wideouts it is essential to this offense and what is has been doing. The Panthers offense has thrived through steady, time-consuming drives and Newton’s ability to connect with the open receiver for the critical completion has been a key component. But when receivers drop passes that hit their hands or tip them into the air to be intercepted, it kills drives and keeps the offense from getting into a solid rhythm. Many of Newton’s interceptions this season have come as a result of tipped passes and two of the three last week came from just that. It’s been an issue all season and luckily for the Panthers, the offense has overcome it, but sooner rather than later the receivers need to stop dropping so many open passes.

Bottom Line:

This one is an easily winnable game for Carolina, no doubt. But that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t go the other way. The Colts have weapons and playmakers but the Panthers must make sure they don’t get anything going and overall, they seem to have the defense to keep the struggling Colts offense at bay. On offense, expect much of the same with the classic Newton-led drives that result in lots of time off the clock and points for the home team.

Game Score: Panthers 30, Colts 14

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