The Carolina Panthers might just have an elite offense

The Buffalo Bills. The Washington Commanders. The Indianapolis Colts, somehow. These three teams all have very good offenses. They're the top three in terms of offensive success rate. Want to know who's fourth behind them? Look no further than Charlotte, NC.

The Panthers have the fourth-best offense in the NFL in terms of success rate. Only three teams have been more successful on that side of the ball, which is just bonkers to even consider. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and the Los Angeles Rams, among others, aren't as good as the Panthers in this metric.

Sure, you can argue that this is heavily inflated by Sunday's outing which was the second-best of any team all year. The Falcons game probably inflates it, too. But on the flip side, half of the Falcons game, the entire Jaguars contest, and the first quarter against the Dolphins bring that way down.

So to balance it out at fourth overall despite the bad outings, including a turnover against the Cowboys, feels pretty fair. They won't stay a top-five unit in the NFL all year long, but this at least proves that we weren't all insane for expecting the Panthers to field a very strong offensive unit after what transpired last year.

It may or may not translate to wins since this still isn't a high-octane offense and the defense is exceptionally hot and cold, but it does suggest that the Dave Canales and Bryce Young-led offense can be really, really good.