The Panthers lost top defensive lineman Derrick Brown to a knee injury in Week 1. That came after Carolina traded top edge rusher Brian Burns and cornerback Donte Jackson and allowed linebacker Frankie Luvu to get away in free agency in the offseason.

After suffering an injury in the Carolina Panthers' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend, star linebacker Shaq Thompson is expected to miss the remainder of the NFL season. He is believed to have suffered an Achilles tear and will have an MRI later on to determine the severity.

While their offense is humming with Andy Dalton leading the charge, Carolina's defense is bad and getting worse.

Over at NFL.com, every expert of the five polled take the Bengals by at least six points, with Dan Parr writing the following about the matchup with Dalton: Yes, I enjoyed the Red Rifle’s Week 3 revival as much as the next guy, but he is not anywhere close to the dynamic dual threat that the Bengals’ Week 3 torturer, Jayden Daniels, is right now.