Strong 'vet presence' pays off for Dalton with big day in Panthers' win - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton looked relaxed and comfortable as he paused from Sunday's pre-game warmups to pose for a picture with his wife and friends on the sideline at Allegiant Stadium.

It was that demeanor first-year coach Dave Canales was looking for earlier in the week when he benched Bryce Young in favor of the 36-year-old veteran, who delivered with three first-half touchdown passes in a 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

It was that demeanor Canales felt a team stinging from an 0-2 start by a combined 60 points needed to jumpstart an offense and team he felt was closer than the losses looked to finding an identity.

«That was one of things coming into this, I got a chance to just be me and be out there like how I normally am,'' Dalton said after completing 26 of 37 pass attempts for 319 yards and three touchdowns. „I'm normally pretty calm, I'm normally relaxed.

“Guys were having fun. I was just trying to make sure guys were having fun, because you put in a ton of work for this thing... and now you get a time to just go and enjoy the work you put it.''

Nothing had been fun for the Panthers in a 47-10 loss to New Orleans opening week and 26-3 setback to the Los Angeles Chargers in the home opener coming off an NFL-worst 2-15 season.

It had been especially hard offensively with Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, putting up historically bad numbers.

Benching the quarterback that a year ago team owner David Tepper proclaimed would win „Super Bowls'' at Carolina made for what Canales called a “really heavy week.'' Seeing it all come together in a complete team victory was satisfying even if he was less than his normal cheerful self in his postgame presser following his first win as