South Charlotte Today

It was a rainy Thursday for the Carolina Panthers as they prepared for their upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The weather, influenced by Hurricane Helene, provided a respite from the heat. Cornerback Jaycee Horn expressed his preference for practicing in the rain, stating, "I'm not a heat guy." Linebacker Shaq Thompson added, "It's football weather…you like the shower, right? It's just like that. It's just water."

The Panthers' injury report saw some updates. Receiver Diontae Johnson, dealing with a groin issue, assured reporters he is all right and expects to play on Sunday. Offensive guard Damien Lewis has been sidelined with an elbow/UCL injury but remains hopeful about his chances of playing against the Bengals. "It's something I have to play with and help the team win games and manage the pain during the season," Lewis said.

Lewis is part of an offensive line that has performed well this season, ranking among the top five through three weeks. He emphasized his readiness to contribute despite his injury: "I'm going to have to put my big boy pants on, put my brace on and go to work. We got to win games."

Special teams coordinator Tracy Smith took a moment during Thursday's media session to wish his mother a happy birthday before discussing recent changes in kickoff rules. The Panthers faced their first onside kick of the season against the Raiders last Sunday. Smith explained that under new NFL rules, teams must alert their opponents if they plan an onside kick and can only attempt it in the fourth quarter if trailing.

"The officials come over and tell you that...the Raiders are going to attempt an onside kick. So that's kind of a bizarre moment," Smith said. He noted that while this change provides more preparation time, everything else about covering kicks remains unchanged.

Smith also commented on how teams have adapted to new kickoff rules this season: "Teams have changed less than you would have thought from the preseason to the regular season."

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero discussed preparing for Sunday's game against a Bengals team that has struggled with its record but not necessarily its performance metrics. The Bengals are 11th in third down efficiency at 41.18 percent but lost their recent game against Washington despite converting 60 percent on third downs.

"Offensively, it's weird," Evero noted. "If you watch the film and look at the scoreboard, it almost doesn't make sense because they're going up and down the field...and then you look at the score and they're behind a couple scores."

Evero highlighted third down efficiency as crucial for Sunday's game: "We know that this is really a big challenge for us...this is a very good offense on all downs and we got to be ready for it." He emphasized complementary football as essential for success against Cincinnati.

"We were able to get off the field on defense," Evero said regarding their Week 3 performance against Las Vegas Raiders where they limited them to 27 percent conversion rate on third downs.