“A strong presence”: Panthers celebrate the resurrection of the “Red Rifle” | Kicker

Beaming man with reddish hair: Andy Dalton.
IMAGO/USA TODAY Network

Only a few days ago, the Carolina Panthers’ officials – including new head coach Dave Canales and eccentric owner and multi-billionaire David Tepper – decided to move Bryce Young to the bench.

Despite extreme difficulties for the 23-year-old first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, such as a lack of top personnel or a weak offensive line, Young had not looked good overall. After a weak preseason with just 2,877 yards, eleven touchdowns and ten interceptions, the promising talent only had 245 yards, no TDs and three interceptions.

Dalton comes – and wins

Before the last weekend (week 3), Andy Dalton moved up from the second row to become the new leader of the team.

Truly no stranger to the National Football League: The now 36-year-old veteran entered the league back in 2011 – including several years as starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals (2011 to 2019). But in his final years in Cincinnati and subsequently with the Dallas Cowboys (2020), Chicago Bears (2021) and New Orleans Saints (2022), his star had already sunk more and more.

Until the current game against the Las Vegas Raiders, when Dalton, who once appeared in four playoff games with Cincinnati (four losses), led himself and his colleagues to an impressive 36:22.

“Basically calm and relaxed

With 26 passes completed out of 37 attempts, the oldie recorded an impressive 319 passing yards, made no mistakes and also threw three touchdown passes. What was special about it was that he acted coolly during the warm-up and posed for photos and commented on his performance, which was celebrated by all sides, in a dry and enjoyable manner.

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The chance to be a starting quarterback again at an older age gave him the opportunity to “just be myself and have fun. Simply because you put so much work into this sport.” The fact that he can appear laid-back to observers is nothing new to him: “I’m basically just calm and relaxed.”

Was replaced by Andy Dalton – and had to watch his great performance from the outside: Bryce Young, who was demoted to the bench by the Panthers.
IMAGO/USA TODAY Network

And from the Panthers’ point of view and from the point of view of the entire franchise, he is welcome to continue to demonstrate this skill on the field. It has been a long time since a quarterback has had fun and is extremely successful at the same time. In fact, which observer seriously believed that the Panthers would pull off a complete turnaround within a few days after the 10:47 opening match against New Orleans and the 3:26 against the LA Chargers? And that Dalton, nicknamed “Red Rifle” because of his reddish hair, would become the first playmaker this season to reach over 300 yards plus three TDs?

Perhaps not even head coach Canales, who after this first win of the season (making the score 1-2) was clearly in a positive mood: “I’m beaming from ear to ear.” It was a strenuous few days, which is why he is now “completely exhausted.” But it was precisely because of Dalton’s performance that he could go to sleep more soundly. A performance that Panthers receiver Diontae Johnson described as follows: “He just has a strong presence.” Dalton gave Carolina what it had been missing for a long time: “He led us, scored, delivered. And together as a team, we stayed focused until the win.”