This week’s schedule takes the Detroit Lions to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are 3-7 and have lost five games in a row with rookie head coach Matt Rhule at the helm.

What’s going on with the new-look Panthers, who have some of the most radical turnover from one season to another a team can undergo in one offseason? To help get some answers there, I turned to Panthers Wire and editor Tim Weaver.

Weaver was gracious enough to answer questions about the Panthers’ poor defense, the QB situation, Rhule’s progress and more.

What has been the biggest reason behind the team’s five-game losing streak?

Carolina’s defense isn’t as bad as some people thought it would be coming into this year. It’s still pretty awful, though. DE Brian Burns has become a superstar but there’s just not enough talent around him to stop teams when they need to. In fact, the hybrid rookie Jeremy Chinn is the only other consistent playmaker they have. So, defensive coordinator Phil Snow has adopted a very conservative strategy. We have seen a lot of three-man rushes and soft zones, which has made getting off the field very difficult; this is the worst third-down defense in the league. That’s the No. 1 reason. The Panthers have also been totally useless in the third quarter this year, averaging less than 3 points per game.

How is rookie head coach Matt Rhule viewed after the first half of the season?

A lot of fans were upset about how Cam Newton’s exit was handled (not well) and some seemed to blame Rhule for it for some reason. That made things rough early, but he’s mostly been getting positive reviews, though. Considering just how young and inexperienced this team is, he’s done an amazing job.

Having no preseason and no real offseason program probably hurt the Panthers more than any other team because they lost far more 2019 snaps than anyone else. They’ve also suffered death-by-1,000 cuts in regards to injuries. That Rhule got this team to win three games and be competitive in 9 out of 10 so far is extremely impressive.

How much of a dropoff do you expect from Teddy Bridgewater to P.J. Walker at QB if Bridgewater can’t play?

There’s no guarantee it would be Walker starting in Bridgewater’s place. Will Grier has been splitting the QB2 responsibilities with him since training camp. Rhule has said they compete for the job every week in practice and whoever does better has been active on game days.

Walker and Grier have rotated several times already, so we just don’t know who it would be. Based on what we saw him do in the XFL, it’s fair to say Walker is more dynamic, but it’s so hard to tell how that will translate given the disparity in competition that he faced there compared to the NFL.

That said, Grier was an unqualified mess in the preseason last year and also late in the year after Kyle Allen got injured. Walker probably gives them a better chance to win.

The Panthers drafted a couple of players who were highly regarded by Lions fans. How are Derrick Brown and Jeremy Chinn playing as rookies?

Derrick Brown has had some ups-and-downs and has developed a consistent penalty problem. However, he’s absolutely a monster run stuffer. He has ridiculous power that jumps out on tape that allows him to maul a lot of guards and get into the backfield quickly. At one point he was tied with Aaron Donald for the league lead in tackles for loss among defensive tackles. He’s also second behind Chase Young in pressures among rookies. Brown has a lot to learn, but he’s clearly going to be good.

Chinn has a chance to be great, though. He was everything we imagined Isaiah Simmons might have been if Carolina had picked him instead of Brown. Chinn lines up all over the field and makes stops at all of them. He has absurd range and athleticism and is more polished than we expected. While he’s gotten better, he has had issues in coverage at times. He got beat soundly by both Cameron Brate and Rob Gronkowski last week and he’s allowing a 110.1 passer rating when targeted. He’s also given up four touchdowns. Still, his versatility and the sheer range of things he can do is undeniably impressive. He’s their most important defensive player aside from Burns and has a very high ceiling.

What one thing about the Lions worries you from a Panthers standpoint?

Carolina’s defense is bad in a lot of ways. Stopping the run is the worst of it, though. Last week’s 98-yard touchdown run for Ronald Jones II is a good example of the kind of collapses that happen far too often. Tahir Whitehead got sucked into the wrong gap and Tre Boston took a really bad angle to miss the tackle. Those two in particular have been extremely disappointing this season, but it’s mostly been a lot of total team failure in this area. They’ve made the likes of Todd Gurley and Leonard Fournette look like Barry Sanders, so Adrian Peterson and D’Andre Swift could both break off some explosive and devastating runs

Who wins and why?

That really depends on who plays QB. If Bridgewater is in the lineup, I’m taking the Panthers. While his numbers aren’t all great, he’s been fantastic at sustaining drives and picking apart defenses, especially bad ones like Detroit. This team has also improved in the red zone a great deal since early in the season. They won’t shut down the Lions or anybody else but they should be able to drop at least 30 points if Teddy is out there. I’m predicting Carolina 31, Detroit 23. If it’s Walker or Grier, I’d take Detroit by a field goal.