The Panthers offensive line is the team’s MVP (so far)

The NFL season is one quarter of the way finished. If “first-quarter-of-the-season MVP” was an award I’d give it to the five men who have made up the offensive line. Their unexpectedly high level of play has been nothing short of stunning.

Through Week 5 the Carolina Panthers are sporting a 3-1 record despite the fact that the five offensive linemen with the most snaps played are two unheralded journeymen (Chris Clark and Greg Van Roten), a guy who’s too young (Taylor Moton), a guy who’s too old (Ryan Kalil), and a backup center playing out of position (Tyler Larsen).

And yet, here we are. This ragtag group of overachievers has put Christian McCaffrey on pace for over 1,300 rushing yards on a…