Carolina Panthers
Last meeting: Carolina Panthers won 9-3 (09/17/2017)
The Carolina Panthers finished 2020 with a 5-11 record, which is what many expected of them. When digging deeper, their 5-11 finish is much more impressive than it seems.
The Panthers were without star running back Christian McCaffery for almost the entire season, and were starting a pedestrian Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback.
Given that eight of Carolina’s 11 losses were within one possession, having McCaffery could have drastically changed their fortunes.
The 2021 Panthers have the potential to be sneaky good; good enough to steal the final playoff spot in the NFC. Carolina will get McCaffery back, along with a talented receiving core of Robby Anderson, DJ Moore, and free agent addition David Moore.
The Panthers will have a new starting quarterback in 2020 after shipping the incumbent Bridgewater off to Denver. Carolina’s new quarterback is a very familiar face to the Buffalo Bills.
The Panthers acquired Sam Darnold from the New York Jets back in April. Darnold was dreadful for the Jets, but it can be argued that Adam Gase had something to do with that. Despite his tumultuous tenure in New York, there is a reason for optimism for Darnold in Carolina. He will be working with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
Joe Brady is notorious for guiding Joe Burrow to one of the greatest seasons ever for a quarterback at the collegiate level. If Darnold can limit the turnovers that have haunted him in his three-year career, the Panthers’ offense should be a force to be reckoned with.
Carolina’s defensive unit should be good enough for Carolina to be a playoff team. Their defensive line is young and full of promise; consisting of the talents like defensive tackle Derrick Brown, and defensive ends Brian Burns and Yetur Gross-Matos.
If the Panthers’ defensive line continues to improve, the defense should not be an afterthought.
Carolina will be better than most people think. The Buffalo Bills are definitely the better team but don’t be surprised if the Panthers steal a win in Buffalo in their Week 15 matchup.