Carolina Panthers: Top takeaways from 31-21 victory over the Bengals

Where is DJ Moore?

One week after first round pick caught his first career NFL touchdown, a 51-yard touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons, the expectation was that DJ Moore was going to be more involved in this Panthers’ offense.

This was due in part to Ron Rivera even saying in the week leading up to this game, that he would be trying to get him more involved. That didn’t happen though against the Bengals as he had only one reception for three yards on two targets.

The game flow could have certainly dictated this as it was hard not to call running plays with how well McCaffrey was running. However, the Panthers coaching staff may need to make some tough decisions and to get Moore on the field, it may be at the cost of some snaps for veterans.

One player that could be in danger is Torrey Smith, who finished the game with three receptions for 19 yards on six targets. He had a key drop on the Panthers’ opening drive and wasn’t much of a factor the rest of the game.