Patriots vs the Carolina Panthers defense

Photo from SB Nation

If we learned anything from the Carolina Panthers win over San Francisco, it's that their defense can play. Their defense held San Francisco to a measly 9 points. While their offense only put up 10, holding San Francisco to 9 points is impressive. And that's cause for concern in Patriots Nation. Tom Brady and his young wide receiver core have finally found a rhythm, but Carolina's defense will present a new challenge, as they stifled a good 49ers offense.

SAN FRAN BY THE NUMBERS:

Total First Downs: 9

3rd Down Efficiency: 2-13

Total Yards: 151

Yards/Play: 2.9

Passing: 11-22 for 46 yards

Rushing Attempts/Yards: 24/105

Sacked: 6 times for 45 yards lost

By and large, the Carolina defense was able to limit the Niners, but if they have a weakness, it's running the ball. 105 yards for the Niners compared to 46 passing yards. That's something the Patriots might be able exploit when we play them on Monday with Stevan Ridley, Lagarrette Blount and Brandon Bolden. That in turn will open up the passing attack, which is finding it's rhythm with the return of one Rob Gronkowski. But will they be able to keep up the momentum from last week? Hard to say - the Panthers are completely different than a much weakened Pittsburgh Steelers team. But the Tom Brady is a different QB than Colin Kapaernick and much better at reading defenses. With his main weapon (Gronk) back, they should be able to overcome the Carolina D.


Stats Courtesy of ESPN.

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