It's hard to believe we're already into Week 3. Tonight's edition of "Thursday Night Football" sees the 2-0 square off with the 1-1 , who will be without their starting quarterback and are starting rookie third-rounder in his place.The Panthers would be among the more surprising 3-0 teams we've seen in recent years, but given the contours of this game they seem to have a pretty good shot at getting there. Houston already having secured its first win is pretty surprising to many NFL observers, but the team could struggle to get another one over the next few weeks with on the sideline.So, how will this game shake out? We're glad you asked, because we're here to break down Thursday night's matchup.Date:Thursday, Sept. 23 | https://www.cubsjerseyfans.com/chicago-cubs-jersey/justin-steele-jersey Time:8:20 p.m. ETLocation:NRG Stadium (Houston)TV:NFLN|Stream:fuboTV ( )Follow:Odds:Panthers -8, O/U 43 has turned 59 total touches (45 rushing attempts, 14 receptions) into a league-high 324 total yards. He didn't score in Week 1 and found pay dirt just one time in Week 2, but he was tackled at the 1- and 2-yard line last week. An absolute monster game is on its way, and it could very well be tonight.The Texans have yielded 4.6 yards per carry to opposing backs (22nd in the NFL) and last week allowed running backs to combine for four catches for 56 yards and a score. They have a league-low 21.3% pre sure rate, per TruMedia, so should have plenty of time to find McCaffrey, , , and . at any level of the field.Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady is doing a far better job of putting Darnold in position to succeed than Adam Gase ever did, and Darnold is largely taking advantage of the opportunities. He's had a few boneheaded throws here and there but he's also taking more chances further down the field than he did in the past, and he's been much more accurate with the ball now that he's been granted wider throwing lanes and adequate protection. Texans cornerbacks could have their hands full with Carolina's receivers, who should provide a much tougher test than the group they squared off against last week with sidelined and joining him after just a few plays.Moore is in the midst of what looks like a breakout season, having connected with Darnold on 14 of 19 pa ses thrown his way for 159 yards and a touchdown. (That's despite the Panthers barely throwing the ball after halftime last week.) Anderson has surprisingly not gotten going https://www.cubsjerseyfans.com/chicago-cubs-jersey/kyle-hendricks-jersey yet despite having a pre-established rapport with Darnold from their time together in New York; it wouldn't be surprising if they got things going on Thursday night. Marshall has been utilized fairly often on short, quick throws to get the ball in his hands and let him try to make a play after the catch. Given his physical advantages and Brady's familiarity with his skill set from their days together at LSU, there's likely a degree of trust that he's being put in the right positions to make plays. That should continue in this game. Through the first two weeks of the season, the Panthers are leading the NFL in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA thanks to their near-total shutdowns of both the and offenses. Those are two units with plenty of deficiencies (offensive line for New York, non-Alvin Kamara skill position players for New Orleans), but it's not like this Houston offense is anything to write home about.Taylor buoyed the group with very strong play for the first week-plus of the season, but he's now on injured reserve. Mills, who played in relief of Taylor last week, will be under center for the foreseeable future unle s he struggles badly enough to nece sitate a switch to , who was elevated this week to the active roster from the practice squad.Mills was once a top https://www.cubsjerseyfans.com/chicago-cubs-jersey/jason-heyward-jersey prospect coming out of high school, but injuries limited him to just 13 starts at Stanford, in which he completed 287 of 436 pa ses for 3,468 yards, 18 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He unsurprisingly looked overwhelmed last week against the Browns, completing just 44.4% of his pa ses at an average of 5.7 yards per attempt while throwing a 2-yard touchdown pa s and a pretty brutal interception where he targeted in double coverage and mi sed well behind his receiver. Mills was pre sured on 52.6% of his drop backs last week, and could be in for a rough night on that front against Carolina, which has gotten pre sure on an absurd 56.9% of opponent drop backs despite playing one of its two games against one of the best offensive lines in football. In particular, figures to live in or near Mills' lap all evening.We ranked Burns sixth in our for the 2021 season, noting that a monster season could be on its way.This is admittedly a bit of a projection, but I can't help it. This dude is so uniquely skilled. He has the fastest in the league, per NFL.com's Next Gen Stats, and he's already been really productive (16.5 sacks, 37 hits, eight tackles for lo s) despite playing just 43% and 71% of snaps in his first two NFL seasons https://www.cubsjerseyfans.com/chicago-cubs-jersey/tony-kemp-jersey . Now that the Panthers have added some more talent up front to take some of the pre sure off, Burns should have even more room to operate. He should continue playing a larger and larger share of snaps. The 15- to 20-sack season is coming soon. This year could be it.Two weeks in, it appears that season is happening. Burns whooped up on the Saints offensive line last week, just like he did against the Jets in Week 1. He has two sacks, three hits, and two tackles for lo s already, and is one of just 22 players leaguewide with seven or more pre sures so far. has been easily the No. 1 pa sing game option for the Texans so far, and figures to remain just that with No. 2 option joining Taylor on IR. The Panthers have held opposing pa sing games largely in check through two weeks but haven't faced a speed threat like Cooks just yet. If the Texans can afford Mills adequate protection, perhaps he can hit Cooks on a play down the field. Houston has mixed and matched four running backs, with seeing the majority of the carries, working as a pa s catcher, doing a bit of both, and seeing a handful of snaps here and there. None are expected to test the Carolina defense too much -- especially not behind one of the league's weakest offensive lines. There really doesn't seem to be much chance of https://www.cubsjerseyfans.com this offense putting a scare into what has so far been arguably the NFL's best unit. Latest Odds: Houston Texans +7.5 Prediction: Panthers 27, Texans 13