Carolina (1-2) will travel to Houston (2-1) for its second straight road game after winning in Arizona last week.
Matchup Notes
- Carolina is 2-2 all-time against the Texans, the team the Panthers have played the fewest times in franchise history. The Panthers are 2-0 against the Texans in the Ron Rivera era, winning at home in 2015 and in Houston in 2011.
- Sunday will mark the fourth time that Carolina has played in NRG Stadium, including two regular season games in 2011 and 2003 as well as Super Bowl XXXVIII after the 2003 season.
- Houston ranks 17th in the NFL in total offense (351.0) and 22nd in total defense (385.7). They've been effective on third down, converting 50 percent of third down chances to tie for fifth in the league.
- Carolina's defense ranks fourth in the league in net yards allowed (295.3), while the pass defense is second with just 295.3 yards allowed. Carolina's 12 sacks tie for third in the NFL.
- Quarterback DeShaun Watson will face off against Carolina for the first time in the regular season. He's completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 778 yards and six touchdowns against one pick for a passer rating of 108.6. However, the Texans have allowed 12 sacks this season, ranking 28th in the league.
- DeAndre Hopkins, a fellow Clemson product alongside Watson, leads the Texans with 218 receiving yards on 19 catches.
- Houston has four players that hail from Clemson and another two from the University of South Carolina.
| Category | Panthers | Texans |
|---|---|---|
| Offense | ||
| Total Yards/Game | 369.3 (11th) | 351.0 (17th) |
| Rushing Yards/Game | 113.0 (11th) | 115.0 (10th) |
| Passing Yards/Game | 277.7 (11th) | 259.3 (17th) |
| Sacks Allowed | 8 (t-20th) | 12 (28th) |
| Third Down Efficiency | 34.3 (22nd) | 50.0 (t-5th) |
| Points/Game | 26.3 (6th) | 22.7 (t-13th) |
| Defense | ||
| Total Yards/Game | 295.3 (4th) | 385.7 (22nd) |
| Rushing Yards/Game | 129.0 (24th) | 108.0 (15th) |
| Passing Yards/Game | 166.3 (2nd) | 277.7 (23rd) |
| Sacks | 12 (t-3rd) | 10 (t-6th) |
| Third Down Efficiency | 43.5 (22nd) | 38.5 (14th) |
| Points/Game | 23.3 (t-18th) | 20.7 (13th) |
Next Gen Stat of the Week
Christian McCaffrey reached 21.01 miles per hour on his record-breaking 76-yard rushing touchdown at Arizona. It marked the fourth-fastest run of Week 3 and is currently the 15th fastest run of the 2019 season. It also marked the second-fastest run of McCaffrey's career.
As you can see on the Next Gen Stats play breakdown, McCaffrey stayed in front of Arizona cornerback Byron Murphy by at least 1.2 yards from the near-side 40-yard line to the other 30-yard line before Murphy dove and took himself out of the play.
Stat Nuggets To Know
- Luke Kuechly now leads the NFL with 36 tackles through three games. It ranks as the most tackles by any Panther through the first three games in franchise history.
- Christian McCaffrey ranks second in the NFL with 318 rushing yards and is second with 450 scrimmage yards. McCaffrey topped his own mark, set last season, for the most scrimmage yards through the first three games in franchise history.
- Greg Olsen is Carolina's leading receiver with 221 yards on 16 receptions. That ranks fifth among tight ends this season as he now has over 8,000 receiving yards in his career.
- According to PFF, James Bradberry has allowed an opponent passer rating of just 29.2, ranking first among all NFL cornerbacks with at least 80 percent of the snaps. Carolina's overall defensive coverage grade by PFF (82.4) ranks fourth in the NFL.
- Among all players aged 23 and under, the Panthers lead the NFL in scrimmage yards, rank first in total points scored, second in touchdowns, third in sacks and fourth in QB hurries.
Chasing Milestones
- According to press box stats, Kuechly (984) needs 16 tackles for 1,000 for his career. He would be the first player in NFL history with 1,000 tackles in his first eight seasons.
- Greg Olsen (59) needs four touchdowns to pass Shannon Sharpe (62) for sixth place all-time in career touchdown receptions by a tight end.
- Kyle Allen (7) needs four total touchdowns (passing and rushing) to pass Patrick Mahomes (10) for the most total TDs in the first three starts of a QB career.
- With at least two touchdown passes and no interceptions, Allen would become the first player in the Super Bowl era to throw at least two touchdown passes without an interception in each of his first three career starts.
Notable Panthers-Texans Connections
- Panthers S Eric Reid is the older brother of Texans S Justin Reid.
- Panthers S Tre Boston and Texans S Jahleel Addae spent time together with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017.
- Panthers S Colin Jones is from Bridgeport, Texas, and played collegiately at Texas Christian University.
- Panthers T Daryl WIlliams is originally from Lake Dallas, Texas.
- Panthers T Greg Little's hometown is Allen, Texas.
- Panthers QB Kyle Allen played two seasons collegiately at Houston.
- Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins is from Clemson, S.C. and played collegiately at Clemson.
- Texans CB Johnathan Joseph is from Rock Hill, S.C. and played college football at South Carolina.
- Texans CB Keion Crossen played at Western Carolina and is originally from Garysburg, N.C.
- Texans ILB Peter Kalambayi's hometown is Matthews, N.C.
- Texans TE Jerell Adams played college football at South Carolina and is originally from Pinewood, S.C.
- Texans NT Brandon Dunn and DE D.J. Reader played together at Clemson are are both N.C. natives, hailing from Mooresboro and Greensboro, respectively.
- Panthers WR Ray-Ray McCloud, Texans QB Deshaun Watson and DE/NT D.J. Reader spent one year together at Clemson in 2015, where they reached the BCS National Championship game. McCloud and Watson went on to win a National Championship in the following 2016 season.
- Panthers T Daryl Williams and Texans WR Kenny Stills played on the same Oklahoma Sooner offense from 2010-12.
- Panthers P Michael Palardy and Texans C/G Zach Fulton played four years together at Tennessee from 2010-13.
- Panthers CB Javien Elliott and Texans T Roderick Johnson spent one season together at Florida State in 2015. After Elliott's departure to
- the NFL in 2016, Panthers rookie LB/DE Brian Burns enrolled at Florida State and became teammates with Johnson for the 2016 campaign.
- Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey and Texans ILB Peter Kalambayi, S Justin Reid and OLB Brannan Scarlett all played for the Stanford Cardinal during the 2015 season. McCaffrey, Kalambayi and Reid spent the 2015-16 seasons together as well.
- Panthers S Eric Reid, G Trai Turner and Texans OLB Barkevious Mingo played for LSU from 2011-12.
- Panthers LB/DE Marquis Haynes and Texans S A.J. Moore and LT Laremy Tunsil spent two seasons together at Ole Miss from 2014-15.
- After Tunsil declared for the 2016 NFL draft, Panthers rookie T Greg Little replaced Tunsil at left tackle at Ole Miss, and played two seasons with Haynes and Moore.
