We are well and truly into the depths of the offseason. Carolina Panthers fans and others around the league are eagerly filling their calendars with plans to watch their favorite team come September.
Fans are eager to see an improvement on the abysmal showing from a year ago. The Panthers secured just two wins – both coming at home. This means those brave supporters who made the various road trips around the country weren’t rewarded. But despite what we tell ourselves, it seems optimism is growing.
New head coach Dave Canales has been a breath of fresh air this offseason. It’s nice to see the Panthers going back to basics when it comes to the development of quarterback Bryce Young. There’s been an emphasis on his footwork and getting the fundamentals right – something that seemed to be completely neglected during his rookie year.
For fans looking ahead to the 2024 season, there are some mouth-watering trips in the offing. For the first time in franchise history, the team will make the trip out to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders. Carolina also has an international trip on the cards as they head to Munich to take on the New York Giants.
While all the talk has been positive this offseason, that has been the case with the Panthers for many years now. Until fans start to see change on the field, skepticism will remain.
Let’s break down four must-win games for the Panthers in 2024.
Carolina Panthers at Saints – Week 1
This is a must-win game for the Carolina Panthers for an abundance of reasons. The fact it’s Week 1 speaks for itself. After the horrid 0-6 start last season, Dave Canales will be looking to get a win early against a division rival.
On a personal level for Bryce Young, this is a vital game to begin his sophomore season. It’s fair to say his 2023 matchups against the New Orleans Saints were less than impressive. In a pair of defeats which included the home opener on Monday Night Football, the signal-caller struggled in both games, failing to top 155 passing yards in either contests and throwing just a solitary touchdown pass.
Getting off to a good start under the Canales regime will be key to banishing the demons of 2023. Doing so versus an NFC South adversary is equally as important.
The Saints – despite seemingly being in cap hell season after season – find ways to compete within the division. That is expected to continue in 2024. They are notorious for having top-level defenses and this will be the perfect opening-day test for the Panthers’ revamped offense.
Carolina Panthers at Bears – Week 5
This one is self-explanatory.
Fans have had to constantly listen to national media talking about what they gave up to move up in the 2023 draft to select Bryce Young. This was then compounded by the fact the Carolina Panthers finished the campaign with a league-worst 2-15 record -handing the Chicago Bears the No. 1 selection.
The Bears used that pick to select USC signal-caller Caleb Williams, one of the most revered quarterback prospects in recent years. Many are tipping the Heisman Trophy winner to be the next Patrick Mahomes. With all the backstory between these two teams, this will be an intriguing encounter.
It has been reported by many in the national media that Williams has struggled in the early parts of the Bears’ organized team activities, almost as if it’s normal for a rookie quarterback to have difficulties regardless of their talent and production in college.
One can only hope Williams isn’t hounded like Young if he struggles at any point this season.
This will be billed as the battle of the No. 1 picks. For Young, getting one over Williams and playing well may go some way to quietening his critics who have had so much to say about the trade-up.
Carolina Panthers vs. Buccaneers – Week 13
Most games mentioned so far have been penned as an opportunity for Young to redeem himself. However, this game is a huge one for first-year head coach Dave Canales.
After a solitary season as Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, Canales was chosen as the next man to lead the Carolina Panthers. Many have wondered if he has the necessary experience to be a head coach with just a single year of play-calling experience under his belt. Getting a win against his former team who also happens to be a division rival would be a huge tick in the box.
Canales was revered around NFL circles for his work to galvanize Baker Mayfield in 2023. Fans saw first-hand just how much the player found life difficult when he was with the team a season prior. Under the tutelage of Canales, he turned things around.
The Buccaneers won the NFC South and were just a touchdown away from forcing overtime in the divisional round of the playoffs. Winning this one will be very satisfying for the first-year head coach.
Carolina Panthers vs. NY Giants – Week 10
This is the closest the Carolina Panthers are getting this season to a primetime game. The NFL showed exactly what they thought of the organization by giving them, not a single chance to showcase improvements with the national spotlight glaring. However, those are the consequences of being a 2-15 team whose campaign descended into a complete disgrace last time around.
An early Sunday morning in November is the closest Carolina will get when they travel to the home of FC Bayern Munich to take on the New York Giants. The Panthers have put a lot into building a fanbase in Germany – including trips from legends such as Steve Smith Sr. and future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly. They’ve even announced draft picks in 2023 and 2024 from the country.
With all the effort being put into relations across Germany, the Panthers must get a big win when they make the trip over to Munich. And that’s not just because yours truly will be in the stands cheering on Dave Canales’ team at the Allianz Arena.
The Giants represent a supremely winnable fixture for the Panthers all things considered. Any team going into a season with Daniel Jones as the quarterback is vulnerable. There’s also the added caveat of a potential Brian Burns revenge game to factor into the equation.
As fans know, Burns spent his first five seasons in Carolina but was traded to New York after a new contract agreement could not be reached. This is thanks in no small part to the incompetent management of this situation by Scott Fitterer and Samir Suleiman.
One would imagine the former Florida State star will be keen to get one over on his former employers, Fans know all too well how this can go – who can forget the infamous Smith revenge game when he was a member of the Baltimore Ravens?
