Other » The unit should also get a boost as receiver

CAROLINA (7-3) at NEW YORK JETS (4-6) Sunday https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Captain-Munnerlyn-Jersey , 1 p.m. ET, Fox OPENING LINE – Carolina by 3 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD – Carolina 6-4-0, New York 6-3-1 SERIES RECORD – Series tied 3-3 LAST MEETING – Panthers beat Jets 30-20, Dec. 15, 2013. LAST WEEK – Panthers had bye, beat Dolphins 45-21 on Nov. 13; Jets had bye, lost to Buccaneers 15-10 on Nov. 12 AP PRO32 RANKING – Panthers No. 7, Jets No. 24 PANTHERS OFFENSE – OVERALL (17) https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/David-Mayo-Jersey , RUSH (7), PASS (22) PANTHERS DEFENSE – OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (4) JETS OFFENSE – OVERALL (25), RUSH (21), PASS (24) JETS DEFENSE – OVERALL (21), RUSH (23), PASS (16) STREAKS https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Devin-Funchess-Jersey , STATS AND NOTES – Both teams coming off bye-week breaks, with Panthers 2-4 under Ron Rivera in such games and Jets 1-1 under Todd Bowles. … Panthers on three-game winning streak. Last victory powered by ground game vs. Dolphins as Carolina set franchise mark with 548 total yards, including 294 rushing. … Panthers have rushed for 200 yards or more in two straight for first time in franchise history. … QB Cam Newton has 181 yards rushing and TD in last two games, while also becoming fourth QB in NFL to run for 4,000 or more career yards. He enters with 4,002. Newton was NFC’s offensive player of week after throwing for 254 yards and four TDs, adding 95 yards rushing vs. Miami. … Rookie RB Christian McCaffrey leads all NFL players at his position with 57 catches. Also ranks fourth among rookies in yards from scrimmage with 639 and five TDs. … TE Greg Olsen (foot) and C Ryan Kalil (neck) both returned to practice this week and expected to play Sunday, barring setbacks. … Offensive line has allowed one sack of Newton in last three games. … Panthers lead NFL in third-down efficiency on offense at 46.9 percent. … Carolina’s defense ranked No. 1 in NFC https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Mario-Addison-Jersey , holding all opponents other than Miami below season average in total yards. … Carolina hasn’t allowed 100-yard rusher since Seattle’s Thomas Rawls had 106 last December – span of 14 games. … LB Luke Kuechly leads team with 71 tackles and is only NFL player since his rookie season in 2012 to have 700 or more tackles (764) and 15 or more INTs (15). … Panthers DE Julius Peppers and Jets QB Josh McCown are two of only three players still active who were drafted in 2002. Peppers went No. 2 overall to Carolina, while McCown was third-round selection (No. 81 overall) by Arizona. DE Dwight Freeney, the No. 11 overall pick by Indianapolis that year, signed with Detroit on Wednesday. … McCown’s 69.0 completion percentage ranks second in AFC to Kansas City’s Alex Smith (69.4). McCown has NFL-leading 74 percent completion rate on third downs. He’s one of three NFL QBs with 12 or more TD passes (14) and three or more rushing scores (3). … RB Matt Forte missed last game with swelling in surgically repaired right knee and could be sidelined for this one. … WR Robby Anderson leads Jets with 568 yards receiving and five TD catches. Looks for fifth straight game with TD catch. He has 16 receptions of more than 25 yards since start of last season, sixth-most total in NFL in that span. … TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins has team-leading 39 catches since returning from NFL suspension in Week 3, third most among NFL tight ends in that span. … After going without sack in first eight games, DE Leonard Williams has 1 1/2 in last two. … LB Demario Davis has team-leading 102 tackles, most through 10 games in career. … Marcus Maye is only rookie safety with at least 45 tackles (49) and two INTs (2). … DE Kony Ealy was second-round pick of Panthers in 2014 Marquis Haynes Jersey , but was traded to New England this past offseason. Ealy has team-leading nine passes defensed. … Fantasy Tip: McCaffrey has proven to be reliable target out of backfield and should remain favorite of Newton, even if Olsen returns. — Houston stars Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt both had big games on Sunday to help the Texans to a come-from-behind win over the Chargers to give them a 2-1 start for the first time since 2016.The strong start is a stark contrast to last season when the Texans lost their first three games before using a nine-game winning streak to dig out of the early hole and go on to win the AFC South for the fourth time in five years."It's decent to be at that record at this point," coach Bill O'Brien said. "All three of these games have come down to the last minute of the game and I think that shows that our team is learning, especially over the last two weeks, to play 60 minutes, that it takes 60 minutes."Watson had an early fumble that led to the first touchdown for the Chargers and Houston trailed by 10 at halftime before he threw two touchdowns in the second half to help the Texans to the 27-20 victory. He completed 25 of 34 passes for a season-high 351 yards for his eighth career game with at least 300 yards passing.Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, had his best game of the season and got his first two sacks of the year in a game where Houston had a season-best five sacks. Watt also had two tackles for losses https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Torrey-Smith-Jersey , five quarterback hits and has a franchise-record 94 sacks since he was drafted in 2011, which is the second-most in the NFL in that span.O'Brien said that Watt's presence helps other players on the defense thrive."Obviously J.J. attracts a lot of attention and that's really good for the other guys because they're left one on one," O'Brien said. "When the offense says: 'Well we've got to take care of these guys,' then that leaves J.J. one on one and then he takes advantage of that opportunity almost all the time."WHAT'S WORKINGAside from Watson's early mistake, Houston's passing game was dynamic on Sunday. Watson distributed the ball well, completing passes to six players and often used his athleticism to avoid the rush and extend plays. The offensive line had its best game of the season, giving up just two sacks as new left tackle Laremy Tunsil starts to settle in and stabilize the beleaguered unit after a trade from Miami on Aug. 31.WHAT NEEDS HELPHouston's running game was great through the first two games of the season and averaged 153 yards behind the strong performances of new acquisitions Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson. But the Texans couldn't do much of anything on the ground against the Chargers, finishing with just 39 yards rushing.Watson had 18 of those yards Dontari Poe Color Rush Jersey , with 15 coming on one run. Hyde scored a touchdown, but averaged just 1.9 yards a carry on 10 runs and Johnson gained only 2 yards on two carries, and the Texans will need them to play better this week to get the running game back on track.STOCK UPTight end Jordan Akins, a third-round pick in 2018, had the best game of his young career on Sunday. Akins got the first scores of his NFL career by grabbing two touchdown receptions in the second half to give Houston the lead. His three receptions and 73 yards were both career highs."Jordan is a very mature guy who works very hard to get better," O'Brien said. "He's done a really good job for us in our blocking schemes ... and he's become a better route-runner every week. Deshaun has a lot of confidence in him."STOCK DOWNHyde's struggles on Sunday came after he started the season strong by running for 173 yards through the first two games filling in for Lamar Miller, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.INJUREDThe Texans didn't have any major injuries in Sunday's game, but O'Brien said a few players are "banged up" while refusing to provide any details.KEY NUMBER51 — Watson has 51 touchdown passes in the first 26 games of his career. That is the fourth most in NFL history behind Dan Marino (64) Jarius Wright Jersey , Patrick Mahomes (60) and Kurt Warner (59).NEXT STEPSHouston's offense should continue to get better as Tunsil becomes more comfortable with his teammates on the line. The unit should also get a boost as receiver Kenny Stills, who came in the trade with Tunsil, becomes more involved as he gets more familiar with the playbook. The play of Houston's defensive front will be important this week as the Texans look to rattle Carolina's Kyle Allen, who will make his second straight NFL start with Cam Newton out with a foot injury.