Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales named Todd Wash interim defensive coordinator last Thursday, hours after the team’s 27–19 loss to the Green Bay Packers — its second straight defeat.
Canales instructed Wash to prioritize stopping the run. The Panthers entered Week 9 ranked 30th in the NFL against the run and fifth-worst in points allowed.
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Wash replaces Ejiro Evero, whose unit struggled to contain opposing ground attacks. According to The Associated Press, those struggles ultimately cost Evero his job.
Defensive lineman Derrick Brown said the defense would make only minor adjustments rather than overhaul its base scheme. He dismissed speculation about shifting from Evero’s 3-4 alignment to Wash’s prior 4-3 system with the Jacksonville Jaguars, calling such a change impractical midseason.
Wash agreed, saying, “We are who we are,” referencing Carolina’s roster composition, but added the unit would “throw some wrinkles in.”
The Denver Broncos enter Sunday’s game at 6–2, winners of four straight. Their offense ranks 30th overall and 26th in rushing, but quarterback Bo Nix has led 15 game-winning drives and 12 fourth-quarter comebacks since entering the NFL in 2024 — both league-leading totals over that span.
Denver has won 15 consecutive one-score regular-season games dating to last season. Nix called the Broncos a “mature team” and emphasized urgency before the bye week, saying, “Every game in the NFL is an important game… they’re all must wins.”
A key matchup pits Denver’s pass rush — tied for fourth in the league with 23 sacks — against Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Young was sacked six times by Green Bay’s four-man rush last week and faces a Carolina offensive line missing three starters. Denver’s Malcolm Roach recorded the decisive sack on Patrick Mahomes in last week’s 28–24 win over Kansas City.
The Panthers are 3–4 and alone in first place in the NFC South. The Broncos are 6–2 and sole leaders in the AFC West. They meet Sunday at 1 p.m. EST on CBS. The teams last met on October 27, 2024, when Denver won 28–14 in Denver. The series record is Broncos 6–2.
Young will start his 52nd career game for Carolina, surpassing Steve Beuerlein for third-most starts by a Panthers quarterback. Only Cam Newton (129) and Jake Delhomme (90) have more.
Panthers kicker Ryan Fitzgerald is 13-for-13 on field-goal attempts this season — one of four kickers in the league perfect on at least 10 attempts.
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