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Week 5 Game Preview: Panthers vs. 49ers

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CHARLOTTE - The Carolina Panthers (1-3) finish out a three-game home stand with a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers (2-2) on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 4:05 p.m. on CBS.

Scroll below for more information on the Week 5 matchup, team connections, series history and stats comparison, presented by Amazon Next Gen Stats.

Game Reset

History: Panthers vs. 49ers

  • Carolina is 13-9 all-time against the 49ers | Series History
  • Current Streak: 49ers W1
  • Carolina has won six of the last eight matchups, including three straight at home in the regular season
  • San Francisco won in 2019, 51-13

Player/Coach Connections

  • Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo spent time with the 49ers in 2005 as an assistant offensive line coach
  • Panthers assistant offensive head coach Jeff Nixon was with SF in 2016 as tight ends coach
  • Panthers players Christian McCaffrey and Henry Anderson both went to Stanford in the Bay Area, while Shaq Thompson and Keith Taylor Jr. both grew up in California.
  • Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow is from Woodland, Calif., and went to Sacramento City College and California State Hayward
  • Panthers offensive line coach James Campen is originally from Sacramento, Calif.
  • 49ers wide receiver and returner Ray Ray McCloud played in six games for Carolina in 2019. He played at Clemson from 2015-17
  • 49ers players Deebo Samuel and Javon Kinlaw are natives of South Carolina and went to USC

Know Your Foe

San Francisco comes to Carolina after a dominant Monday Night Football win over the Los Angeles Rams.

The 49ers are sporting the NFL's top defense, allowing just 234.5 yards per game and 11.5 points per game. San Francisco is stingy on third down, allowing opponents to convert just 32.7 percent of conversions while making 15 sacks, good for second in the league.

On offense, local South Carolina product Deebo Samuel leads the charge through the air and on the ground. He had 115 yards and a 57-yard catch and run touchdown on Monday night.

Statistical Comparison

Table inside Article
Category Carolina San Francisco
Offense
Total Yards/Game 262.3 (32nd) 324.5 (24th)
Rushing Yards/Game 96.3 (24th) 135.3 (9th)
Net Passing Yards/Game 166.0 (31st) 189.3 (26th)
Sacks Allowed 11 (t-23rd) 7 (t-8th)
Third Down Efficiency 25.5 (32nd) 37.0 (22nd)
Points/Game 19.5 (17th) 17.8 (t-27th)
Defense
Total Yards/Game 346.0 (18th) 234.5 (t-1st)
Rushing Yards/Game 134.0 (25th) 73.3 (2nd)
Passing Yards/Game 212.0 (12th) 161.3 (2nd)
Sacks 5 (30th) 15 (t-2nd)
Third Down Efficiency 39.1 (17th) 32.7 (6th)
Takeaways 4 (t-21st) 6 (t-12th)
Points Allowed/Game 21.3 (t-13th) 11.5 (1st)

Notes and Trends

Defensive Touchdowns

  • Carolina scored a defensive touchdown for the second week in a row when Frankie Luvu returned an interception for a touchdown against Arizona. It was the first time since 2005 that Carolina had scored defensive TDs in back-to-back games.
  • Carolina is the only NFL team to have multiple games with a defensive TD this season

Adding defensive points

  • Xavier Woods and Frankie Luvu currently lead the Panthers in total EPA (expected points added) with 34.04 and 33.76, respectively. That calculation is a formula that takes into account a number of defensive stats accumulated and contributed to.

Moving up the record books

  • Brian Burns recorded a sack in Week 4 to move past Thomas Davis in the all-time record book. Burns now has 28.5 career sacks and ranks eighth in Panthers history.

Offensive line getting stronger

  • Carolina's offensive line has had all five starters play every snap through Week 4.
  • Guard Austin Corbett ranks eighth among qualified guards with a pass blocking grade of 77.1, while center Pat Elflein ranks 12th among qualified centers with a pass blocking grade of 69.2 (via PFF).

Rush Defense in Weeks 2-4

  • Carolina allowed 106.3 rushing yards per game in Weeks 2-4, with a league-best defensive rush EPA (Expected Points Added) of 28.19 due to 17 tackles for loss (third in NFL) and two fumbles.
  • In those three weeks, opponents had just 2.74 yards post-contact per rush (5th in NFL) compared to 4.67 in Week 1 (29th).

McCaffrey over 100 scrimmage yards

  • Despite overall offensive struggles, Christian McCaffrey had his third-straight game with over 100 scrimmage yards on Sunday, making him one of five players with three games of 100+ yards this season.
  • Since 2018, McCaffrey continues to lead the NFL with 128.8 scrimmage yards per game.

Piñeiro still perfect

  • Eddy Piñeiro hit a career-long 54-yard field goal on Sunday at the end of the first half.
  • He is one of three kickers to still be perfect on field goals (8-of-8) with a minimum of eight attempts.

First Drive Defense

  • Carolina ran its streak of holding opponents out of the end zone on the opening drive to 21 games. The franchise record is 28 games, set in 2005-06.

2022 Statistical Milestones to Watch

  • DJ Moore (314) needs 11 receptions to pass Wesley Walls (324) for fifth-most in franchise history.
  • Christian McCaffrey (49) needs one scrimmage TD to tie Muhsin Muhammad (50) for fifth place in franchise history.
  • Shaq Thompson needs 72 tackles for his fourth consecutive season with at least 100 tackles. That would tie Jon Beason (4 straight) for third-most behind Thomas Davis (5 straight) and Luke Kuechly (8 straight).
  • Donte Jackson (12) needs one interception to tie Thomas Davis and Ken Lucas for seventh in franchise history.
  • JJ Jansen (213) needs eight games played to tie John Kasay (221) for most in Panthers franchise history.

View photos from past games between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. Carolina holds a 13-9 edge in the all-time series.

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