Is what happened in the desert good or bad for the Panthers?

Oh, brother, what do we have here? The Carolina Panthers have been such a multiple mess that rumors were flying about new owner David Tepper getting rid of everyone, from their injury prone QB 1 to head coach Ron Rivera.

After losing their first two games at home, the Cats went to Arizona and, behind unknown back-up quarterback Kyle Allen, played their best game in a year and shot down the Cardinals, who aren’t very good themselves, which kind of compounds the problem.

Side note, you think little man Kyler Murray can play in the NFL after winning the Heisman in college or will he pull a Danny Ainge and switch sports, since he also signed a contract with baseball’s Oakland A’s. It’s madness all over the NFL, where Daniel Jones led the Giants to miraculous comeback win in his first start.

Back to Allen, a rookie from Houston who completed 19 of 26 passes for 4 touchdowns and a near-perfect QB rating in the 38-20 win over the Cardinals. He looks like a better passer than Cam Newton ever was, and don’t you think he energized the entire team into playing better? It was almost the Panthers saying free at last from the turmoil surrounding Newton, and their offense and defense showed athleticism they hadn’t in home losses to the Rams and Bucs.

So Allen has the job until Newton is healthy again. Then what?

There is an adage in pro sports that starters can’t lose their jobs due to injury. When they are healthy again, they get their spot back. They can only be beaten out by playing poorly in the games and practice, where Newton is straddling that line of demarcation.

Tepper doesn’t want to lose the fan base, which wants to win and is growing tired of Newton, from his wounded-bird passes, his lost ability to run the ball to the costumes he wears to games. Allen’s unassuming character and his play Sunday were a breath of fresh air.

Of course, he will have to continue that play against better teams like when the Panthers visit the Texans this week and later the unbeaten 49ers, where quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo escaped a somewhat similar controversy in New England and is now the undisputed leader of his new team.

But this has all the trappings of a giant controversy in Charlotte between the pro-Cam and anti-Cam crowds. Stay tuned, if you care.

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