Andy Dalton accomplishes feat no other QB has done in 2024 in leading Panthers past Raiders

Before Week 3, the Carolina Panthers had just one touchdown this season, but their first drive without quarterback Bryce Young ended in a touchdown. They also came away with their first victory since Dec. 31, 2023 and their first away win since the end of the 2022 season, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 36-22 at Allegiant Stadium.

The former No. 1 overall pick was benched after the struggles from his rookie year continued into his sophomore season. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton got the start and made an impact right away, becoming the first quarterback this season to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns.

It didn’t take Dalton long to get things started in the right direction. On the game’s first series, he guided the offense 70 yards in nine plays in a drive that ended with a 6-yard pass to running back Chuba Hubbard. The Raiders tied things up in the first quarter with an Alexander Mattison 2-yard rushing touchdown, but it didn’t take Dalton much time to respond.

Dalton marched 75 yards down field and found wide receiver Diontae Johnson for a 5-yard TD to take back the lead. Carolina extended their lead to 14 points and Dalton is getting everyone in the offense involved, throwing his third touchdown of the day to the third different player before the half was over.

This time it was Adam Thielen scoring on a 31-yard pass. The Panthers 21 points this half are more than the scores of their first two games … combined.

Dalton finished the game going 26 of 37 with 319 yards, 74 more yards than Young’s first two games combined. He had more yards in the first half quarter than Young had in either game this year. Young went 31 of 56 with 245 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in the first two weeks, including a pick on his first drive of the season.

At this rate, the job is now Dalton’s to lose.

Before Sunday, the only trip to the end zone for the Panthers this year was a 3-yard rush by Young. Their only other scores through two weeks were two field goals.

Before he was benched, Young went 2-16 in 18 starts with 3,122 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In 14 years in the NFL, Dalton has a 83-78-2 record as a starter, with 38,511 yards, 246 touchdowns and 144.

Antonio Pierce says some Raiders players made ‘business decisions’ in Week 3 loss to Panthers

The Las Vegas Raiders dropped to 1-2 on the season in rather embarrassing fashion on Sunday afternoon. The club hosted the winless Carolina Panthers and proceeded to get throttled in a 36-22 defeat that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. While suffering a loss in the home opener is tough in itself, coach Antonio Pierce is putting some players on his roster in the crosshairs for their effort, or lack thereof.

“I think there were definitely some individuals who made business decisions, and we’ll make business decisions going forward as well,” Pierce told reporters postgame, via Pro Football Talk.

Of course, it’s unclear which players Pierce was referring to when making this claim, but it will be fascinating to monitor the team’s transactions in the next week or so to see if those “business decisions” come across the wire from the franchise.

Carolina jumped out to a 21-7 lead by halftime, and that advantage ballooned to a 33-7 score by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Andy Dalton got the start for the Panthers following the benching of Bryce Young, and the Panthers quarterback had his way with the Raiders defense. He completed 26 of his 37 pass attempts for 319 yards and three passing touchdowns — becoming the first quarterback this season to hit the 300-yard mark and three TDs. Meanwhile, running back Chuba Hubbard totaled 114 yards rushing on 21 carries. As a team, the Raiders allowed the Panthers to average 6.2 yards per play.

As for the Las Vegas offense, it scored a touchdown in the final seconds of the first quarter but then turned the ball over on downs, had two three-and-outs, and missed a field goal all before halftime. That largely continued in the second half before scoring 15 points in garage time.

When asked what positives the Raiders could take out of this game, Pierce replied, “Nothing.”

Jerry Jones says Cowboys ‘couldn’t afford Derrick Henry’ after Ravens RB runs all over Dallas

Derrick Henry to the Dallas Cowboys was closer to happening than many may initially think. The running back reportedly had interest in making Dallas, where he trains during the offseason, his permanent home.

There was one major issue, however, and it all came down to money. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said his team couldn’t afford the four-time Pro Bowler.

Henry ended up with the Ravens and got to show the Cowboys why they should’ve made it work on Sunday, rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns in Baltimore’s 28-25 win at AT&T Stadium. Watching Henry run over his defense, probably makes Jones wish it could’ve worked out with the veteran.

After the Cowboys’ second home loss in a row, Jones explained why Henry ended up on the Baltimore sideline this season, rather than the Dallas sideline.

“We couldn’t afford Derrick Henry,” Jones said, laughing when asked “why not?” “I don’t know. Why can’t you buy a mansion when you live in a different kind of house? We couldn’t afford it. We can’t make that all fit. That’s as simple as that.”

Henry signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Ravens, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Tennessee Titans.

The Cowboys lost Tony Pollard, so they were in need of a strong running back. Now their depth chart includes Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott and Deuce Vaughn and their run game has struggled. Through two weeks, they were 25th in rushing and added just 51 yards on the ground in Week 3.

Jones commented on the lack of production in that area, saying it goes deeper than just having a star running back.

“I wouldn’t direct the running game and lack thereof or where we’ve been over the last three games to any one running back at all, because it takes some offensive linemen to blow them out of there; it takes a passing game to keep them honest in the running game. It takes a lot of things to make that work,” Jones said. “This wouldn’t be solved with just jumping over there and getting [Hall of Famer] Jimmy Brown.”

Contracts were a major storyline for the Cowboys this offseason. They waited to give wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott extensions, meaning there wasn’t much salary cap space to work with. Their lack of extra cash turned into a lack of a reliable running back.