Gerber: Panthers rewind explores Halloween candy/player comparisons

By Clark Gerber, WRAL Sports contributor

It's been a good week if you love candy and Panthers football.

After a season full of "tricks," Carolina finally delivered a "treat," pulling out a 15-13 win just in time for Halloween. Now, as we all know, not all treats are created equal, and the Panthers were certainly a mixed bag against the Texans.

With that in mind, we're trying on a new gimmick for a deeper dive into Sunday's game: Panthers players as Halloween candy.

Let's dive in ...

Bryce Young - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

It's pretty well established that Reese's cups – whether they are full size, fun size or pumpkin-shaped – are the G.O.A.T. Halloween candy. And while Young has certainly had his struggles at times this season, he was excellent against Houston.

For starters, the rookie was turnover free for the second straight game despite no help from the running game and lots of pressure in his face.

Young was sacked 6 times and took 10 quarterback hits on Sunday, yet still managed to complete 22 of 31 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers would have been even better too, if not for multiple drops (more on that in a bit).

Young also showed growth in the big play department. He connected on two passes of over 30 yards, and both were executed beautifully.

In the second quarter, Young shook out of a safety blitz, rolled left, flipped his hips and launched a perfect ball to Adam Thielen for a 31-yard gain down to the 5.

This is the kind of magic we saw from Young at Alabama, and we finally got a glimpse of it here.

The Panthers were unable to punch it in and ended up turning the ball over on downs, but that shouldn't take away from their quarterback's most spectacular play of the season so far.

Other highlights included a season-long 40-yard pass to Jonathan Mingo (during which he stepped up in the pocket perfectly), a clutch 4th down pass to Thielen (more on that in a bit also) and a well-placed touchdown pass to Tommy Tremble.

Bryce Young played like the Panthers MVP on Sunday. He deserves to be king of the candy bucket.

Frankie Luvu - Take 5

Just as Take 5 may be the most versatile and underrated candy out there, Frankie Luvu may be the most versatile and underrated linebacker in the NFL.

"Uce" once again led the Panthers with 12 tackles on Sunday. He also picked up two tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a sack, which earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Luvu was Carolina's highest graded player (per PFF) with a score of 78.6. His combination of pass rushing, tackling and coverage skills make him arguably the Panthers' most important defensive player and a nightmare to gameplan against.

One moment that shouldn't go unnoticed – it was Luvu who tipped away Houston's two-point conversion attempt late in the 3rd quarter. If he doesn't make that play, the Texans' would have been up 3, not 1, and the fourth quarter might have played out very differently.

Adam Thielen - Snickers

When I think Snickers, I think about two words – reliable and clutch. (Nothing hits better when you need to fight off hunger pangs to finish a round of golf.)

Those two words fit Adam Thielen perfectly.

The 11-year veteran continues to make his case for a 3rd career Pro Bowl, reeling in a team-high eight catches for 72 yards against Houston.

It's his fifth straight game with at least 70 yards receiving, he remains on pace to shatter the single-season franchise record for receptions and does not have a single drop this season.

Thielen featured in Carolina's most spectacular play of the day (Young's aforementioned 31-yard dime) and with the game on the line, he also featured in the team's most important sequence.

On the game's final drive, the Panthers faced a 3rd & 12 with about four minutes left. New play caller Thomas Brown dialed up a screen to Thielen, who fought forward for a gain of 10 – close enough to go for it on fourth down.

On that fourth down play, the play call was to Thielen again, only this time there was considerably more traffic to fight through.

It didn't matter.

Thielen maintained concentration and pulled in a key first down that kept the drive alive and helped set up the game-winning field goal.

As I said, reliable and clutch.

Ikem Ekwonu - Necco Wafers

We've now exited the lovey-dovey portion of the column and are cannon balling straight into the negatives. That's because watching Ikem Ekwonu play on Sunday was about as enjoyable as eating one of those Necco wafers.

In a word, ew.

(If you don't know what Necco wafers are, Google it. I promise you've had one before and I promise you didn't like it.)

Ekwonu gave up a team-high five pressures and two sacks against the Texans, and to be honest, it felt worse than that.

The former top five pick got manhandled by Houston's Jonathan Greenard all afternoon, including one play that was downright embarrassing early in the 4th quarter.

Ekwonu also failed to make much of an impact in the running game, as the Panthers managed just 44 yards on the ground.

Icky's sophomore slump is entering into dangerous territory. You simply can't have your left tackle getting beat this badly and expect to have an effective offense or a healthy quarterback.

We all know Ekwonu has the physical skills and measureables to be an NFL starter, but unless he turns it around quick, he may need to be benched.

Brian Burns - Peanut M&M's

We know Brian Burns is a very good player. We know Peanut M&M's are a very good candy. But both can leave you wanting more.

Burns recorded his fifth sack of the season against Houston ... and that's it.

He recorded only one tackle and whiffed on a couple others. It's the fourth time out of seven games that Burns has been held to two or fewer tackles which, frankly, isn't good enough for a franchise player.

Just like Peanut M&M's are a notch below Peanut Butter M&M's, Brian Burns needs to find an extra gear if he wants to be an elite pass rusher like Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, TJ Watt or Micah Parsons.

Those players are all consistent game wreckers. Right now, Burns is a sometimes game wrecker.

Donte Jackson - Sour Patch Kids

Sour Patch Kids aren't for everyone, but the people who like them tend to love them.

It's the same for Donte Jackson this week.

He's certainly had some not-very-good games, but on Sunday, he was great.

The six-year veteran played a big role in shutting down Texans breakout receiver Nico Collins, holding him to just four catches for 30 yards.

CJ Stroud didn't throw his way very often, but when he did, Jackson was ready to make the play. He racked up five tackles, including a hard-nosed TFL on tight end Dalton Schultz to force a 4th down.

The Panthers secondary should be getting Jaycee Horn back in the next couple weeks. If Jackson can keep playing like this, they'll have a formidable one-two punch at cornerback.

DJ Chark & Jonathan Mingo - Butterfinger

Calling a receiver Butterfinger – or "butter fingers" – is not very nice. I understand that, but it's hard to argue with the results.

Mingo and Chark both had a case of the dropsies (scientific term) on Sunday, which likely kept Bryce Young from his first career 300-yard passing game.

Chark's drop was particularly egregious, as it wiped away another dazzling throw that should have gone for 30-plus.

Now, sometimes Butterfinger bars can be delightful if you happen to get one with a crisp, flaky center and not a tooth-crunching, sticky glob. It's the same with Chark and Mingo, who have shown the ability to help the offense get "chunk" plays on occasion.

As mentioned above, Mingo's 40-yard catch-and-run was the Panthers' longest play of the season.

But unfortunately, much of receiving (like candy) is about consistency and dependability. Those areas are still a work in progress for Carolina's number two and three pass catchers.

Chuba Hubbard - Starburst

Chuba Hubbard's game on Sunday was a lot like opening a fun size Starburst (the two-packs) and getting stuck with orange and yellow. Very disappointing.

Hubbard's first ten touches of the game went for only 16 yards, including three carries where he got stopped inside the 5 and set up a Panthers turnover on downs.

But on the last possession, finally, a pink Starburst rescued the day.

Hubbard kick-started Carolina's game-winning drive with a 12-yard catch-and-run.

Later, he notched a 14-yard reception into fringe field goal range, followed by three straight handoffs for 11 yards and a crucial, diving first down.

Hubbard's efforts forced Houston to use all of its timeouts and allowed the Panthers to control the final two minutes of game clock.

His final stat line wasn't pretty, but #30 played a key role in closing out the first win of the season.

Hayden Hurst - Candy corn

I mean, if not for the orange color, would you even notice he was out there?

Hurst had two targets all game and caught neither of them, including a blatant drop on the final drive.

Just like candy corn, Hurst seems to be phasing out. He has one catch or fewer in four of the last five games.

Eddy Pineiro - Twix

Twix isn't the most exciting candy in the bag, but it delivers.

Just like Eddy Pineiro.

Pineiro's early missed extra point was worrisome, but he certainly made up for it with a trio of second half field goals, including the game-winner.

I particularly enjoyed him confidently shushing the crowd before his last attempt, followed by an exuberant, piggyback celebration.

I feel like I nailed all the candy comps except for this last one.

Maybe the Left and Right Twix represent the left and right uprights that Pineiro had to kick it through?

We'll go with that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go pick through my son's candy stash again. Dad tax, you understand.

Happy Halloween!