CHARLOTTE — It's Week 10, and the Panthers are gearing up to play their second divisional game of the season. Carolina will be back home this weekend to take on the New Orleans Saints. Coming off a massive 16-13 win against the Packers last weekend, Dave Canales and crew have emphasized staying focused this week, ensuring there's no hangover while taking the lessons from the win, and putting all their attention towards the NFC South matchup.

"I think (the guys) responded great, coming back into work on Wednesday and understanding that it requires all of our energy to be focused on the opponent," Canales said Friday. "The Saints are coming in, we got to look at all the stuff and be locked in.

"There can be distractions, you know, I want to make sure that the guys take from the Packers game the lessons of winning the turnover battle. And we turned one over, but we were plus one in that. All the critical variables that led to success, that led to the win, let's capture those things, more so than trying to make it more than what it was.

"It was a win, and every win is great for us, but it's the confidence in our process. It's the confidence in the style of football that we play that works for us, and those are the lessons that we have to take and we have to carry over week after week."

From defensive changes after the Saints' trades, focused attention on offense, here are five things to watch in Sunday's matchup.

Step on up, Jalen Coker

When Jalen Coker was injured before the season began, the Panthers' offense was forced to adapt and continue building a scheme without him. Now that he has returned, Dave Canales is excited to see him more involved. The first three games since Coker got back on the field saw him used sparingly as coaches slowly worked him back from the quad injury.

But Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik both said, more than once this week, that they want to make a concerted effort to get Coker involved more/again.

"I'm expecting a big game from Jalen Coker at some point coming up, you know, as he continues to show what he's doing out there. He looked great again," Canales said Monday. "I got to do a better job, Brad and I, just getting Jalen going."

When Coker, who has four receptions for 45 yards, hears that, his only thought is, Be ready.

"I just got to show up," said Coker this week. "I mean, if they're going to go out of their way to design plays calls for me, I've got to make sure that I'm open and I'm in the playbook and know what I'm doing and ready to go on Sunday."

Against the Saints last season, in a 23-22 home win, Coker had two receptions for 36 yards, including a big third-down conversion in the second quarter that moved the chains and set the Panthers up for a touchdown two plays later.

He'll face off against a unit on Sunday that includes Kool-Aid McKinstry, Jonas Sanker, and Alontae Taylor. But for a guy who makes his living across the middle, Coker knows he also has to have an eye out for linebacker Demario Davis, who is the Saints' leading tackler and has a pass-breakup.

"Alontae Taylor, he's a really good player, rangy, good cover guy; two corners, you know they got McKinstry, younger guy—they got the rookie back there from Virginia, Sanker, they're going to be an athletic defense, a gritty defense," said Coker.

"They've got Demario Davis, obviously, in the middle, who's just kind of been their rock for however many years he's been doing this, so you know it's going to be a gritty team and we're going to need to show up to play our best."

Coker's targets could go up naturally on Sunday, depending on Tetairoa McMillan status. The receiver popped up on the injury report Friday afternoon with a hamstring and is officially considered questionable for Sunday. Canales told reporters on Friday that pulling the rookie from practice was mostly precautionary, and they would continue to monitor him through the weekend.

Who do the Saints use in place of Shaheed?

New Orleans traded away a lot of speed and production this week, sending Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks. That means the Panthers will still face him in Week 17, but it means they will be defending a bit of an unknown this week.

"I mean, I know they probably do have to prep differently because (Shaheed) is a guy who could take the top off and game-breaking speed," corner Jaycee Horn said. "So I don't know what we'll get from them or if they'll still be trying to take a lot of shots or what they'll do, but you know we'll see Sunday."

One option is Devaughn Vele, who is 6-5 and 210 pounds and whom the Saints traded for this offseason from the Broncos. He's rangy and has some speed. The Saints have used him sparingly this season as they implement him into this offense. But Horn remembers facing him last season in Week 8 in Denver.

"Yeah, he was a rookie last year, yeah, a pretty good receiver," recalled Horn. "A solid route runner, he's pretty good."

The Saints' leading receiver is Chris Olave, who told reporters in New Orleans recently that he felt he was being used in more ways, as the season progressed, in first-year head coach Kellen Moore's offense.

"They're using me in all types of ways," Olave said. "A lot of underneath stuff, a lot of over the middle, and we're starting to open up the deep game, too. I'm excited going forward."

Does that mean he'll become the deep threat?

Possibly. The Saints have sent Olave downfield on routes of 30-plus yards six times this season, for two completions.

Whoever it is, the Panthers know they have to be prepared for options and for the Saints to try still to attack with speed.

"This is the NFL where there's a lot of good football players and every week we have issues you have to deal with," said defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. "Even though they traded Shaheed the other day, it's still, Olave has got a lot of speed. Brandin Cooks has got a lot of speed. Their tight end, number 83 (Juwan) Johnson, has a lot of speed, and so there's a lot of formidable pieces there."

A tale of two rushing attacks

The Panthers' rush defense has spent much of this season, thus far, in the Top 10 of the league. The group dropped to the middle of the pack, though (18th), after giving up 245 yards on the ground to the Buffalo Bills, bringing the average allowed on the ground up to 110.8 yards per game.

Without the Bills' performance, it would be 94 yards a game, which would still be in the Top 10.

After that Week 8 loss, the unit was able to come back to the mean, only giving up 104 yards to the Packers (and holding Josh Jacobs to 87 yards). Can the unit keep it up on Sunday and work their way back into conversations as one of the best rushing defenses in the league?

There will be a chance to do so against a Saints' offense that is 27th in the league on the ground, averaging 89.6 yards per game. Alvin Kamara is averaging 41.9 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry, the lowest of his career. But as Evero said this week about the longtime back, "Kamara, obviously his resume speaks for itself."

Kamara (ankle) is listed as questionable for Sunday.

On the other side of the field, Rico Dowdle will be looking to continue his hot streak and narrow in on the 1,000-yard mark. He needs 133 scrimmage yards (rushing or receiving) to reach 1,000 scrimmage yards on the season. Sitting at 735 rushing yards, he still needs 265 on the ground to have a 1,000-yard rushing season.

The Saints' defense is holding opponents to an average of 129.4 yards per game on the ground.

According to Next Gen Stats, Rico Dowdle has produced 172 rushing yards over expected this season, the 3rd-most in the NFL. He's been especially effective on runs outside the tackles, leading all rushers with 144 yards over expected while averaging a league-best 7.1 yards per carry and a 56.0 percent success rate on such attempts.

The battle of the rookie class with Tyler Shough

Panthers' pass-rusher Nic Scourton and Saints' quarterback Tyler Shough trained together throughout draft prep this past spring. The 26-year-old Shough, a Louisville product who had seven years in college, was the oldest player in the draft. Scourton, who was 20 years old when drafted and didn't turn 21 until August, was one of the youngest.

"I call him granddad," joked Scourton this week. But that age can help the rookie QB, according to Scourton, even though he has only one start this year.

"He's a little old. So, obviously, he's a little seasoned for a rookie, so I expect him to go out there and execute their offense to the best of his ability, and I think he's a competitor…He's tough. He works hard. He really loves the game, so I just know that about him. He wants to go out and compete."

There is very little NFL tape on Shough (pronounced shuck). He has appeared in only three games this season and took over in Week 8 for Spencer Rattler when the second-year passer was benched. In his three-game action, Shough has gone 32-56 for 304 yards and one touchdown to two interceptions.

Scourton spent enough time with him during training, though, to have some idea of what to expect.

"He can run a little bit, but you know I always joke that I'm faster," laughed the pass-rusher who will be looking for his third sack of the season on Sunday.

"(Shough) wants to look downfield, but you know if he needs to extend plays, he can."

Tershawn Wharton didn't train with Shough, but has been watching any tape available. The key, said the veteran, is to keep the rookie under pressure throughout the entire game.

"Still just seeing what they did with him last week and then understanding how we could attack him," said Wharton of the week of prep. "We've got to kind of get him out of his rhythm early. Just because that's anything with a young quarterback, I think when you start letting them seek success, this is the NFL, so they're putting them out there for a reason. So just going to attack him early and get him out of his rhythm and then see where we go with that."

According to Next Gen Stats, Shough has completed 27 of 46 passes for 252 yards, one touchdown, and both interceptions against zone coverage this season. His 63.0 passer rating and 58.7 percent completion percentage against zone are both lower marks than any qualified quarterback.

The Panthers' defense has deployed a zone coverage on 84.8 percent of opponent dropbacks, the highest rate in the NFL, and has allowed a 42.6 percent success rate (10th-lowest) on such dropbacks.

Bryce playing quicker and quicker

When Dave Canales arrived last year, he emphasized Bryce Young getting the ball out faster, or at the very least, knowing when to "begin the second play," meaning scramble and find a second option. The quarterback has done that, posting some of the best marks of his career, and some of the best in the NFL.

Through nine weeks, Young, who has one of the lowest pure sack rates in the NFL, taking a sack on 4.4 percent of his dropbacks, also has an extremely low pressure-to-sack ratio, meaning the amount of times he is sacked relative to when he is pressured. That rate, 11.4 percent, is the second-lowest in the NFL, second only to Bo Nix of the Broncos.

Many of those numbers are attributed to the offensive line and Young working together to reset the pocket when pressure does leak through. But the quarterback has also been able to avoid sacks by getting the ball out quickly when he does feel pressure.

According to Next Gen Stats, Young is throwing the ball 0.66 seconds after facing pressure, the fastest mark of his career and faster than the league average.

He'll need to continue that on Sunday, facing a pass-rush group that includes Cam Jordan, Chase Young, and Carl Granderson, the latter of whom has a team-high 4.5 sacks. Jordan, an experienced vet at giving teams fits, has 2.5 sacks and 14 quarterback pressures.

Chase Young, who missed the first five games with injury, has already picked up 3.0 sacks in his four games, and has the best pressure rate on the Saints' team, at 18.9 percent.

"They got Cam Jordan and got Chase Young off the edge, playing good football right now," noted Dowdle this week.

The assignment to take care of Young will be left to the tackles, though, joked Dowdle.

"We do a good job of scheming things up to where I don't end up on guys like Chase Young," the running back laughed. "So I don't really have to worry about it too much."