North Charlotte Today

CHARLOTTE — The Panthers plan to start veteran quarterback Andy Dalton on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. This will be just the second start for Dalton in a Panthers uniform. Before Carolina heads west, an examination of Dalton's career statistics is warranted.

Dalton has made three Pro Bowls in his career (2011, 2014, 2016). The only other starting quarterback in Panthers history to make three Pro Bowls is Cam Newton (2011, 2013, 2015). Since entering the league in 2011, Dalton has posted 32 games of 300-plus passing yards. In his last start for the Panthers in Week 3, 2023 against the Seahawks, Dalton completed 34-58 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns.

Dalton is 83-78-2 as a starter. Next Gen Stats reveal that since tracking began in 2016:

In Week 3 against the Seahawks last season, Dalton faced zone coverage on 81 percent of his dropbacks, completing 31-47 attempts for 285 yards and two touchdowns against such coverage. Since 2016, Dalton has gone 447-692 (64.6 percent) out of play action, amassing 5,404 yards (12.1 yards per completion) for 32 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He has faced pressure on 20.6 percent of his dropbacks since then with a sack rate of only 6.4 percent.

In Week 3 of the previous season, Dalton particularly found synergy with Adam Thielen. The duo connected on 11-of-14 passes for a total of 145 yards and one touchdown. Dalton's completion percentage when throwing to Thielen was recorded at an impressive rate of "78.6 percent," which according to NGS was "15 percent over expected completion." The quarterback's rating when targeting Thielen stood at "133.6." The average throw time on these passes was calculated at "2.6 seconds."

Against the Seahawks, Dalton went "4-of-7" on passes exceeding "20-plus yards," including a notable "47-yard touchdown."

Regarding matchups with the Raiders:

Dalton holds a perfect record of "3-0" in career starts against them and stands at "4-0" overall versus the team. In those three starts and victories against the Raiders, he completed "63-of-94 passes (67 percent)" accumulating "708 yards," seven touchdowns without any interceptions.

Notably, Dalton has been sacked only twice by the Raiders back in their initial meeting in "2011." Since Maxx Crosby joined the Raiders in "2019," Dalton has not taken a sack from him.

The last encounter between Dalton and the Raiders occurred in "2022," resulting in a Saints' victory by a scoreline of "24-0." During this game Crosby had “29 pass rush snaps into the backfield.” On those plays where he faced pressure from Crosby’s rushes: “Dalton went “20-27” contributing towards “214 yards” alongside two touchdowns.”