The Panthers defense is ranked second in the NFL, but challenges remain

CHARLOTTE — The Panthers are playing very well on defense at the moment.

There’s still room for improvement. 

With the Panthers ranked second in the league in total defense, and near the top in a number of other categories, there’s not that much 

“Our last ball game, we did a lot of good things,” defensive coordinator Phil Snow said Thursday, in a bit of understatement. “There’s something to improve on every week. I asked them to play faster, and they did, and to win the physical battle, and they did. So we did some good things in the football game that we can control, that the opponent had nothing to do with.

“As long as we can keep working and getting better every week, we have some talented guys in the room, so we have a chance. That’s the issue, is you’ve got to get better every week in this league.”

The Panthers lead the league in net passing yards per game (173.7 yards), they’re fourth in the league in third-down percentage allowed (33.1 percent) and tied for fourth in the league in sacks (27).

But they’re still somewhat susceptible to teams who want to body them up and run the ball, the way the Cowboys and Vikings did. They rank 12th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (107.0), numbers that got out of whack in a few games. The Cowboys ran for 245, the Vikings 198, and the Patriots 151. In half of their games, they’ve held opponents to fewer than 82 rushing yards, and under 50 three times.

The Football Team is capable of running the ball, as they showed last week against the Buccaneers. While averaging 2.8 yards per carry might not sound like much, being able to run 34 times for 94 yards has its own merits.

“They’re getting physical running the football. They have a big downhill back (Antonio Gibson), and a back that’s a really good receiver (J.D. McKissic). . . . They have some weapons on offense, and if you look at their offensive line last week, they dominated Tampa, which is hard to do. 

“I think they’re starting to play the way they want to right now, so they’re a challenge.”