CHARLOTTE — It's a Rocky Mountain High sort of weekend, which John Denver explicitly tells us is meant to encapsulate the beauty and majestic wonder of all that is Colorado, even though Denver is not in the Rocky Mountains. In fact, for all intents and purposes, it's in the desert, although they call it a valley. From the city, you can see the edge of where the mountain range begins, but that's only because the state's capital sits on a plot of land so flat that you can see for miles and miles away.

But we digress.

Although the city is not in the mountains, it is still at a very high altitude, a full mile above sea level, which will inevitably factor into the Carolina Panthers preparation this week and, therefore, our five things as well.

With that in mind, here are five things to watch as the Panthers (1-6) travel to take on the Denver Broncos (4-3).

Let's talk about Bryce

After starter Andy Dalton suffered a sprained thumb in a car wreck on Tuesday, it was announced Bryce Young would be starting on Sunday for the Panthers. It will be Young's first start since Week 2. The former starter is focusing entirely on Week 8, though, with blinders on what came before and anything that could come after.

"You know, for me, it's just day by day," Young said Wednesday. "I'm not really a huge, big picture, send a message, big thing. I want to do everything I can to be the best I can today during meetings and practice, and then, obviously, I will do everything I can to help the team on Sunday.

"Whatever comes from that and how things are perceived in the building, throughout the world, that's always stuff, no matter what it is, stuff I can't control. So again, I just want to do all I can to help the team, and that's really where my focus is."

Every week in the NFL is difficult, but Young will be lining up this weekend against one of the best defenses in the league right now. The Broncos are third overall in yards allowed (282.4 yards per game), fifth in passing defense (170.7), and third in points allowed (15.1 per game). They have 10 total takeaways and 28 total sacks (second in the NFL). The Panthers have only given up 14 sacks this season, a vast improvement over last year when they allowed 65.

Guard Robert Hunt knows those numbers won't mean anything if they don't play their best game against arguably their most formidable front yet on Sunday.

"They're a good group, especially a good group up front," Hunt said. "They have two really good rushers in the interior in (Zach) Allen and my boy; I played him a lot when he played with the Jets, John Franklin-Myers. Him and Allen, those guys are really good.

"John used to be an end, now he's inside. So, I think he's kind of like helping them a little bit because he can work all his moves on a guard. So, he looks good, Allen looks really good. And they have two forward guys that can really just get up the field and go get it. So they're doing a really good job, and also the defensive scheme that they do is very, very aggressive."

The Broncos have allowed an average of 111.7 rushing yards per game. A solid run game is a quarterback's best friend and best solution to avoid sacks. The Panthers have that in Chuba Hubbard. According to Next Gen Stats, Hubbard has accumulated +119 rushing yards over expected, the 5th-most among running backs through Week 7.

He also has 12 explosive runs (10+ yards) on the season, tied for 8th among running backs. The Panthers offensive line has opened running lanes for Hubbard to take advantage of, as he has been hit behind the line on just 31.1% of his carries (4th-lowest rate in NFL, min. 50 carries).

Practice squad passer Jack Plummer could be elevated if need be, but the Panthers are also continuing to evaluate Dalton in case his grip strengthens by Sunday. If so, he will be the backup in Denver.

Could Clowney's return help stop Nix?

Stop us if you've already heard this all week, but Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix is really, really good at avoiding sacks. He's taken an average of 1.3 per game, tied for best in the league with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen (among QBs who have played every game). There are two reasons: according to Next Gen Stats, the Broncos offensive line has allowed quarterback pressures on a mere 5.8 percent of dropbacks, with the line responsible for only six sacks.

The other reason? Nix himself and his Houdini act at times to get away from pressure.

According to NGS, Nix has scrambled on 10.4% of his dropbacks, the 5th-highest rate among quarterbacks; additionally, he has generated +12.2 EPA (expected points added) on scrambles this season (8th).

"Guys will get to him, and he can; obviously, he's got the speed to get out of the pocket," Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero noted this week. "He's strong, so he can work through arm tackles; he can extend plays. So, it's a combination of both. And they've been doing a good job, and it's going to be a good challenge for us."

Getting initial pressure on Nix and keeping him contained will be crucial, which is why Jadeveon Clowney's status can be one to watch as kickoff draws near. The veteran pass-rusher has been out since leaving just before halftime of Week 5 with a shoulder injury, but he was able to practice all three days this week for the first time since said injury.

"He looked great," Canales said of the Pro Bowler's week of practice. "He looked great, so really excited about Clowney."

Clowney has 16 quarterback pressures through four and a half games, with a sack, 12 tackles, and nine stops. His return could help not only provide pressure on Nix as a passer but stop what has become a centerpiece of the Broncos run game. Nix is their second-leading rusher, with 255 yards on 47 carries. Javonte Williams leads all Denver rushers with 301 yards on 73 carries.

"Their offense, they got one of the best run games in the league, I think, as far as the running back style they play," Clowney noted this week. "They're physical downhill runners, a lot of gaps games, a lot of pullers. It's just us doing our job on first and second downs, trying to get them manageable on third down. That's going to be the game, winning first down.

"I'm just going to try to do my job, man," Clowney said of what he could bring back to the field. "I just bring the energy, hopefully, and a physical game. That's what I'm going to bring out there, and just try to be physical; I have a lot of energy, and being out there with them guys, I feel like I help."

Happy NTED to all who celebrate

Sunday is one of our nation's greatest holidays, the kind our Founding Fathers foresaw when establishing our country…National Tight Ends Day.

It's the first chance to celebrate for rookie tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders.

"I'm going to see if the boys got a tradition, like if they've been doing something the past couple of years, see what they got going on," Sanders said this week. "I'm still new to this, so trying to see what they got."

The most important part of celebrating National Tight Ends Day is for said tight ends to show out on the field. Sanders has a chance to do that. He was the Panthers leading receiver in Week 7 with six receptions on six targets for 61 yards. The pass-catching tight end is third overall in receiving, with 19 catches for 151 yards.

"Honestly, it's just making the plays when my number is called or just being in the right spot at the right time," Sanders said. "A couple of my passes were just reading zone coverage and just finding that honey hole."

The Panthers have had Ian Thomas back on the field the past two weeks, which Sanders said has helped elevate the entire unit's blocking. Now that Tommy Tremble is out of concussion protocol, his possible return on Sunday would help round out all the group offers.

"Ian's a bad (expletive) when it comes to that blocking," Sanders bragged. "It's been great having him back. I can't wait until Tommy's all the way back so we can all be out there blocking, blocking our asses off."

Lonnie and Raheem and all that they bring

Over the past few weeks, the Panthers special teams has quietly built a unit around strong pillars. One of those is Lonnie Johnson. The veteran gunner had one of the best special teams plays of the season last week against the Commanders when he jetted downfield and executed an almost poetic behind-the-back pass with the ball, so Jacoby Windmon could down it at the eight-yard line.

"I played basketball, so it was really, treat it like a basketball," Johnson explained. "It bounced up, grabbed it with both hands, and then that was the first thing that came to my mind was, like, behind my back."

It's become par for the course for Johnson, according to special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.

"Lonnie's done an excellent job as a punt coverage player since he's been here and, in his history, Saints and Texan and the Chiefs, I believe. That was an especially fancy one, but he made a really nice play the week before on a tackle on his sideline against Atlanta on a punt to his side that we really needed him to make.

"So, he's been good in the plus territory and also on the long-field punts. Really excited to have him here."

"Obviously, you got to work for everything in this business," Johnson said. "I mean, I came here with my mind to just focus on whatever they needed me to do, and that's why I tend to do it every week, you know. So you just go out there and give it 100 percent whether I'm on special team, defense or offense."

On the flip side of the coverage is the return itself. The Panthers are hopeful that Raheem Blackshear will be on the field Sunday. He was a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday, albeit in a red no-contact jersey Wednesday as he healed from a dislocated shoulder suffered against Washington. All indications are he is mended and prepared for kickoff.

"Raheem is still our lead guy," Smith said Thursday. "And then everybody else who has been practicing and been out there before, so X (Xavier Legette) still goes on the kickoffs. Been practicing with a few other guys, mostly running backs. And then, punt return. Raheem and David Moore have been the primary catchers so far, and then other guys who you may or may not have seen in pregame warm-up."

The air is thinner up here

Denver officially sits 5,280 feet—precisely a mile—above sea level. The thinner air attracts Olympic hopefuls who want to train their bodies to improve endurance. For those experiencing it for the first time, though, or the first time in a while, it can provide an initial shock to the body.

Linebacker Josey Jewell played six years for the Broncos, so he's well acquainted with the complexities of playing at altitude.

"It's going to be tough going from sea level to up there," Jewell said this week. Charlotte's elevation is 751 feet.

"The simplest one is that you walk up the stairs, maybe hotel stairs, and you're going to be breathing hard," Jewell explained. "So, it's just that. I'm sure after a couple of minutes, maybe first quarter, people get used to it and stuff like that."

In the past, teams would fly out a day or two early to have time to adjust. Over the years, they found it instead put players in a state of limbo, half adjusted to the altitude, half not. Now teams arrive late on Saturday. However, it does change how players must prepare ahead of time.

Defensive lineman Nick Thurman has played in Denver before, which is why he was offering advice to rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace on Wednesday.

"The night before, get a good night's rest. Make sure you're hydrated," Thurman began as he explained it to Wallace. "Make sure you get to the stadium early enough, especially pregame, make sure that you get like a little, I wouldn't say lathered up, but you get enough to get your body acclimated, and then you just try to see the difference."

"Is it really that different?" Wallace asked.

"I'm not saying it's super crazy, but you're going to feel it," Thurman replied.

Offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu is also playing at that elevation for the first time and planned to pick Jewell's brain during the week.

"There's definitely a guy I want to talk to for sure because obviously he's played in it for a while now," Ekwonu said this week. "But obviously, I've heard, you know, it's been a struggle for some guys, so got to make sure I do everything I can to prepare."

As for Jewell's advice to prepare?

"Stay hydrated and take advantage of the oxygen things if you want. I know they're going to try to make fun of people in the third quarter about that, and they do the whole video stuff and try to be cool with it," Jewell joked. "So just stay hydrated and try to stay on top of just an extra healthy week and try to take advantage of it."