Andy Dalton started at quarterback on Sunday and the Carolina Panthers’ offense didn’t look like the worst in football.

Far from it.

In their first game since Bryce Young was benched, the Panthers shut out the Las Vegas Raiders in a 36-22 victory for their first win of the season. They did it on the road.

Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Panthers to scores on seven of their 12 possessions. The win was the Panthers’ first under rookie head coach Dave Canales. Dalton’s 300-yard, three-touchdown passing effort was the first of the season in the NFL.

Carolina controlled both sides of the ball against the Raiders. But it was the offense’s resurgence that stood out after a key quarterback change. The Panthers benched Young on Monday, 18 games into his career after selecting him first overall in the 2023 draft.

Dalton, a 14th-year NFL veteran who made three Pro Bowls as a starter for the Cincinnati Bengals, got the call to replace him in the starting lineup. He looked much like his former Pro Bowl self.

The Panthers opened the game with a 70-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Dalton to running back Chuba Hubbard. The touchdown was just their second of the season and the first for the Panthers in the first half of a game this year. There would be many more to come.

With the score tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Dalton, under pressure, threw a pass over two Raiders defenders to Diontae Johnson in the end zone for his second touchdown of the day.

With time running out in the final minute of the first half, Dalton delivered a 31-yard pass to Adam Thielen in the end zone — again over two Raiders defenders — to extend Carolina’s lead to 21-7.

The Panthers added two field goals and a touchdown run by Miles Sanders after halftime before the Raiders responded on offense. By then, Carolina’s lead had grown to 33-15 in the fourth quarter and the game was effectively over.

Carolina’s Offensive Output: Dalton vs. Young

The final point total of 36 was the most for Carolina since the Panthers drafted Young last spring. Carolina has reached the 30-point mark just once in 18 games with Young at quarterback, a 33-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 last season.

The touchdown total of four quadrupled Carolina’s previous output of one in its first two games of the season. The offense, meanwhile, produced 437 total yards and both a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver. Hubbard ran for 114 yards on 21 carries and added five catches for 55 yards and a score. Johnson tallied eight catches for 122 yards and his touchdown.

At the end of the game, Dalton had completed 26 of 37 (70.3%) passes for 319 yards (8.6 yards per attempt) with three touchdowns and no turnovers. In Young’s two starts this season, he had completed 55.4% of his passes for 245 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions.

Young’s long-term future with the Panthers remains uncertain. But for now, Carolina’s offense clearly belongs to Dalton.