After two weeks in football’s worst passing offense, WR Diontae Johnson can exit a stadium with a smile on his face, a touchdown in his hands, and a win under his belt. The Carolina Panthers’ quarterback change from Bryce Young to Andy Dalton breathed life into a cold Panthers offense. With Dalton running the show, Johnson caught his first touchdown and Carolina secured its first win, beating the Las Vegas Raiders, 36-22.
Johnson scored from 5 yards out midway through the second quarter, giving the Panthers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. A well-thrown ball from Dalton to Johnson on an over route, Johnson tracking and making the snag over a Raiders defender.
It was far from the only play Diontae Johnson made. Through three quarters, he led the team with eight receptions, 122 yards, and that score, one of three that Dalton threw on the day.
A stark contrast to what Johnson and the Panthers experienced the first two games of the season. In a historically bad passing attack with Young at the helm, Johnson caught just five passes for 34 yards across Weeks 1 and 2. Before this Sunday’s game ended, Johnson was doing laps around those figures.
Carolina made the surprising decision to bench Young after two weeks. While his play was miserable, he was the franchise’s first-round pick and the first player taken in 2023, the team making a deal with the Chicago Bears to trade up and secure the No. 1 pick. But with a new regime, including head coach Dave Canales, and sensing their season was ending before it had hardly begun, the Panthers turned to Dalton.
He provided a spark and showed that Young might have been a central problem to the team’s struggles. While the Raiders were without several defensive linemen in former first-rounder Tyree Wilson and Malcolm Koonce, they’re a unit that harassed Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson a week ago. This week, Johnson, Dalton, and the Panthers carved them up. In a contract year, Johnson needs the numbers to earn a solid deal for 2025. He might be as happy as anyone for the quarterback change.
