The Broncos need to obliterate the Panthers, as style points matter

The Denver Broncos need to beat the snot out of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, just like they did to the New Orleans Saints last Thursday.

Yes, style points matter for the Broncos this weekend.

Some folks might argue a win is a win, but not when a team is as bad as Carolina. The Panthers are absolutely atrocious.

They got blown away by a Washington Commanders group this past weekend that featured Marcus Mariota at quarterback for the vast majority of the day. The final score was 40-7, as Carolina cemented itself as probably the worst team in the NFL.

The Panthers have lost games this year by 33 points, 18 points, 26 points, 10 points, 23 points and 37 points. They somehow have one victory, but that was against the lowly Raiders. It was also Andy Dalton’s first start of the season, coming in for former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.

But the Dalton boost only elevated Carolina for one day, and he’s looked like a veteran journeyman over the past few weeks. Dalton’s had a nice career, but there’s a reason he’s bounced around. He’s well past his prime.

And the decision to take Young over C.J. Stroud is one that may haunt the Panthers franchise a long time. That’s their problem though, and the Broncos need to be ready to pounce.

Denver has come out slow in all three home games this year, posting a frustrating 1-2 record at Empower Field at Mile High. And if Pat Surtain II didn’t have a 100-yard pick-six against Las Vegas, they could be winless at home.

I wrote last week that the Broncos homefield advantage has disappeared, and that’s sad, but what better way to get it moving in the right direction than beating the lowly Panthers by 30 points?

The oddsmakers have the spread with Denver as 7.5-point favorites. Yes, you read that sentence right. We’re not used to the Broncos being favorites in many games over the last eight years, let alone by more than a touchdown.

It really is the perfect storm for Sean Payton’s squad to win by a final score in the ballpark of 42-3. They were up on New Orleans 33-3 before a garbage time TD made that score look a little closer, but it was an emphatic beatdown.

Coming off the mini-bye, Payton’s got to find a way to get his team motivated to do it again. No one is going to feel good walking away after the Panthers game if it’s stressful in the fourth quarter. Let’s make it a laugher.

And it’s important for rookie QB Bo Nix to pass the football better against Carolina. His legs were huge against the Saints, but the right arm needs to be crisper.

Nix had two different throws where he threw the ball in between two receivers. It’s like he couldn’t make up his mind where he wanted to go with it, and the results weren’t good. On the first one, he missed a touchdown to a wide open Troy Franklin.

On the second one, it was nearly a disaster. Tyrann Mathieu dropped what would have been one of the easiest interceptions of his career. And for a guy with a lot of picks to his name, that was rare to see.

Establishing the run is great, but Payton should use the Panthers game as an opportunity to build Nix’s confidence. Three touchdown passes and some style points would go a long way as Baltimore and Kansas City loom.

On defense, Vance Joseph’s unit just needs to keep rolling. They should get stud cornerback Pat Surtain II back from concussion protocol, and Cody Barton looks like a blossoming star after his monster game against the Saints.

Apparently, the Panthers are sticking with Dalton at quarterback, so good luck with that. There’s no reason Joseph’s defense should give up more than 13 points at the absolute maximum.

The Broncos should get to 5-3 on Sunday. But winning big, Nix improving and the defense keeping its foot on the gas are important. A blowout would help everyone feel even better about Denver’s legitimate postseason chances for the first time since 2015.

Related

Courtland Sutton could see his third-down target share cut dramaticallyBroncos preseason opener: Three players to watch against the FalconsBroncos sign a backup center to add depth to interior of O-lineBo Nix sitting out of the preseason opener changes absolutely nothingBo Nix cracks top-10 on two different QB traits ranked by ESPN’s Dan OrlovskySean Payton keeps raving about Pat Bryant as stock rises for Broncos WR