Carolina (0-2) at Las Vegas (1-1)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, CBS
BetMGM NFL odds: Raiders by 5.
Series record: Raiders lead 4-3.
Against the spread: Carolina 0-2; Las Vegas 1-1.
Last meeting: Raiders beat the Panthers 34-30 on Sept. 13, 2020, in Charlotte.
Last week: Panthers lost to the Chargers 26-3; Raiders beat the Ravens 26-23.
Panthers offense: overall (32), rush (29), pass (31), scoring (32)
Panthers defense: overall (25), rush (31), pass (9), scoring (32)
Raiders offense: overall (22), rush (32), pass (7T), scoring (20T)
Raiders defense: overall (23), rush (29), pass (15), scoring (19T)
Turnover differential: Panthers minus-1; Raiders minus-3.
Panthers player to watch
QB Andy Dalton. All eyes will be on Dalton, who takes over for 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who was benched by first-year head coach Dave Canales on Monday after two disappointing starts. Dalton started one game for an injured Young last season and had a huge statistical game, completing 34 of 58 passes for 361 yards with two touchdowns, although the Panthers lost 37-27 at Seattle. Still it was one of Carolina’s bests offensive outputs of a season which ended with a 2-15 record. Dalton is 83-78-2 as a career starter with 246 touchdown passes and 144 interceptions.
Raiders player to watch
RB Zamir White entered the season with the onus of trying to follow Josh Jacobs, who just two years after leading the NFL in rushing signed with the Packers. White also bore the burden of playing behind an offensive line that is still trying to find itself. Nevertheless, if the Raiders want to have much success this season, White — who has rushed for 68 yards through two games — has to get going.
Key matchup
Dalton vs. Raiders defense: Look for plenty of play-action passes by the Panthers, which plays to the 14-year veteran quarterback’s strengths. Dalton is 447 of 692 passing (64.6%) for 5,404 yards with 32 touchdowns and 16 interceptions on play-action passes since 2016, per NextGen Stats.
Key injuries
Panthers DT Shy Tuttle is dealing with a foot injury and his status is unclear for Sunday. ... Raiders LB Divine Deablo (oblique/concussion) and CB Decamerion Richardson (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday. Tyree Wilson didn’t play Sunday at Baltimore because of a knee injury, but returned to practice this week. DE Maxx Crosby (ankle) and DT Christian Wilkins (knee) were limited but expected to play.
Series notes
The Raiders' first game as Las Vegas' team was at Carolina in 2000. Jacobs' 6-yard touchdown run with 4:08 left put the Raiders ahead for good after the Panthers had rallied from 12 points down with two TDs in the fourth quarter. ... The past two meetings have been especially high scoring with the Raiders edging Carolina by a combined 69-62.
Stats and stuff
The Panthers have the worst record in the league since 2018 at 31-70. ... RB Chuba Hubbard had 64 yards rushing on 10 carries in the team’s loss to the Chargers and appears to have a firm grasp on the starting job. ... Dalton has 32 games with at least 300 yards passing in his career. ... Young will serve as Dalton’s backup. ... WR Diontae Johnson, who was brought in to be Carolina’s No. 1 receiver, has just five catches for 34 yards through two games. ... WR Adam Thielen, Carolina’s other starter, has been held to five receptions for 69 yards. ... The Panthers defense has allowed five passing TDs in two games, second most in the league behind the Commanders (6). ... Carolina has scored three points in its past two road games going back to last season. ... Brock Bowers' 156 yards receiving leads all tight ends. ... Gardner Minshew has completed 55 of 71 passes, his 77.5% tops the league. ... Davante Adams is 50 yards from becoming the 17th player to reach 11,000 receiving yards. ... Maxx Crosby is three sacks from moving into third place in Raiders history. Anthony Smith is in that spot with 57 1/2 sacks. ... Daniel Carlson made all four field-goal attempts against the Ravens, including both kicks from beyond 50 yards. He is 27 of 34 from that distance for his career. Carlson's 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds provided Las Vegas with the winning points. He has made 17 of 20 field goals in the final two minutes or overtime since becoming a Raider in 2018.
Fantasy tip
Thielen seemed to have good chemistry with Dalton last season. In Dalton’s only start in Week 3 of the 2023 season, he was 11 of 14 passing for 145 yards and one touchdown when targeting Thielen.
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The Associated Press
