What a difference just one week can make.
After giving up 59 points against Chicago , the Carolina Panthers looked like a completely different team in Sunday's 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons . Bryce Young played well again, the defense created turnovers, and Atlanta never found the end zone.
It wasn't perfect, but it was the response Carolina needed. Here is how I'm grading every Panthers position group from Sunday's win in Atlanta.
Sep 20, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) celebrates with Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) after a touchdown during the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
There really isn't much more that needs to be said about Bryce Young after what he did Sunday. He finished 23-of-36 for 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. For the second week in a row, Young looked confident and in control of the offense.
The biggest thing for me was that he didn't try to do too much. He spread the ball around, took what Atlanta gave him, and still wasn't afraid to take a shot when it was there. His 55-yard connection with Xavier Legette was a perfect example.
Was everything perfect? No. There were a few throws I'm sure he would like to have back, but I'm not going to nitpick a three-touchdown game with no interceptions in a 31-point win. That's an A for me.
I really thought we would see Chuba Hubbard get the ball more than he did Sunday. He finished with 53 yards on 12 carries and averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. He also caught the touchdown that put Carolina on the board.
I can't complain too much about what Hubbard did because he was productive when he got his opportunities. My issue is more with the running game as a whole. Carolina finished with only 68 yards on the ground, and it never really became a big part of the offense.
Then again, Young was throwing the ball well, and Carolina was in control for most of the game. There wasn't much reason to force the running game just for the sake of running it. I still want to see more from this group, though, so I'm staying at a B-.
Sep 20, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) makes a catch during the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I really liked what we saw from this group. There wasn't one guy Young had to depend on all afternoon. Instead, he was able to spread the ball around and get several guys involved.
Tetairoa McMillan led the way with five catches for 101 yards. Jalen Coker followed up his big Week 1 with eight more catches for 66 yards, while Xavier Legette only had two catches but made one of them count with a 55-yard reception.
Then you have Darren Waller catching two touchdowns. He didn't need to put up huge numbers to make a difference in this game. If Carolina can keep getting production from this many different guys, it's only going to make things easier on Young.
There isn't much for me to complain about here. This group gets an A.
I thought the offensive line was pretty solid, especially when Young dropped back to throw. He was sacked twice, but for most of the afternoon he had enough time to find somebody open. That's really all you can ask for.
Where I still have some questions is the running game. Carolina only finished with 68 yards on the ground, and there were times when there just wasn't much room there. I want to see that get better as the season goes along.
I'm not going to beat them up too much over it. Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, and Carolina scored 34 points. The guys up front had something to do with that.
This was probably the hardest group for me to grade. When your defense gives up three points, it's hard to complain about much of anything. At the same time, Atlanta was still able to have some success running the football.
The good part was we didn't see the huge runs that killed Carolina against Chicago. Bijan Robinson finished with 72 yards on 16 carries, but his longest run was only 11 yards. After what we watched in Week 1, that's definitely an improvement.
I still want to see Carolina get better against the run. But I'm also not going to ignore how much better this group looked compared to a week ago. A B feels about right.
Sep 20, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd (55) returns an interception for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
This one was pretty easy for me.
Devin Lloyd seemed to be everywhere Sunday. He finished with two interceptions, including the pick-six in the third quarter, and also added a sack and two tackles for loss. It felt like his name was being called all afternoon.
Bobby Okereke also came away with an interception, and this group made plays when Carolina needed them. After watching the defense struggle so badly against Chicago, somebody needed to step up. The linebackers did exactly that.
This was the best position group on the field for Carolina in my opinion. Easy A+.
Atlanta never really got much going through the air, and the secondary deserves a lot of credit for that. It didn't matter which quarterback the Falcons put on the field. Carolina never allowed either one to really settle in.
Another thing I liked was that we didn't see guys running wide open downfield all afternoon. Carolina kept things in front of them and made Atlanta work for whatever it got. That's something we didn't see nearly enough of against Chicago.
When you hold a team to three points and keep them out of the end zone, I'm not going to search for reasons to knock the secondary. They did their job.
Sometimes a good special teams game is one where you don't have to spend much time talking about special teams. That's pretty much what we got Sunday.
Ryan Fitzgerald made both of his field goal attempts and all four extra points. Carolina got the points that were there and, more importantly, didn't have a major special teams mistake that gave Atlanta some life.
After what happened in the return game last week, I'll take that. Nothing spectacular, but a good day overall. A- feels right to me.
It's hard to give Carolina anything lower after beating a division opponent 34-3 on the road. The Panthers created turnovers, didn't give the football away and kept Atlanta out of the end zone. After giving up 59 points a week ago, that's a pretty big turnaround.
There are still things that need to be cleaned up. Nine penalties for 63 yards is too many, and I still want to see more from the running game. Those things can hurt you against better teams.
I'm not ready to say everything is suddenly fixed after one win. But this was exactly the response Carolina needed, and now we get to see if they can build on it.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/panthers/onsi as Grading Every Panthers Position Group After Stifling Week 2 Win Over Falcons .
