With a new regime in place for the Carolina Panthers, it seems as if the personnel changes they've made over the past few seasons are starting to pay off. Not only have they gotten off to a 2-0 start, but Sam Darnold also seems to have finally found the right fit after a few abysmal seasons playing under center for the New York Jets. Meanwhile D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson and Brandon Zylstra have all put on big performances early into the season and made things easier for Darnold on offense.
Christian McCaffrey is also back healthy and looking rejuvenated to play MVP-caliber football all year long while leading this new-look Panthers to the playoffs.
Now that Matt Rhule has built a winning culture in Carolina and transformed the Panthers into a potential playoff threat, let's take a look at three reasons why it's possible they can make this year's playoffs.
3. The Panthers' offense has been horribly overlooked
Granted there was a ton of uncertainty surrounding their trade for Sam Darnold this offseason, but he's proven to be a major upgrade for them at quarterback and could potentially be their long-term solution at the position. Plus with the return of CMC to go along with Moore, Anderson, Zylstra and Dan Arnold, the Panthers have some quality depth and firepower on offense–which is something that has been horribly underestimated by their opponents on defense over the first few games of the season.
With Darnold showing strides and improvements in his game and a well-balanced offense at his disposal, the Panthers could light up the scoreboard this season and become a top-1o offense in the NFL. So their upcoming opponents better watch out, because this Panthers offense is not to be taken lightly.
2. The Panthers ‘defense has been stellar
Throughout the first two games of the season, the Panthers have only allowed three touchdowns and seem to be getting better on defense with each contest they play. Under their new defensive schemes, Carolina made the new-look Jets offense look dysfunctional and made things incredibly tough for rookie quarterback Zach Wilson all day long. Just last Sunday, they completely took Jameis Winston out of his element after he had a strong Week 1 showing with five touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers.
So if there's anything that can be said about this Panthers defense, it's that they are tougher than expected and will be bringing the fight all year long. Come Thursday night, the Houston Texans better watch out for this up-and-coming Panthers defense that's looking to make another strong statement and lead the Panthers to a 3-0 start.
1. Matt Rhule has imported a winning culture from Baylor
Fresh off a successful coaching tenure at Baylor University, Matt Rhule came into Carolina with a plan to rebuild the Panthers into an NFC powerhouse. However, he knew that things would have to get worse before they get better. Now, in just his second season at the helm, Rhule has turned the Panthers into legitimate playoff contenders.
Seeing as we are only approaching the third week of the NFL season, it is safe to say that the Panthers have a tough road ahead of them. However, they've already shown a ton of improvement early on and are looking to keep this winning pace up throughout the campaign while remaining in the thick of the playoff race. With all this going for the Panthers, it won't be long before Rhule is named NFL Coach of the Year.
Now it may seem a bit farfetched to assume all of this, but at the same time it doesn't seem like anybody thought that the Panthers would look this dominant this soon–especially after all the setbacks and headaches Carolina had to endure last season. After all that, a quality turnaround and a surprise playoff appearance really doesn't seem all that crazy at this point anymore.
Following their explosive performance against their division rivals last Sunday, who seemed all out of sorts against them in Week 2, look for the Panthers to build on this early success during Thursday's game against the Houston Texans. This booming Carolina team is poised for another dominant performance.
Hoping to get off to a 3-0 start and continually getting better with each game, this team definitely shouldn't be taken lightly and will work tirelessly to put the league on notice as legit playoff contenders all season long. In an effort to stay atop the NFC South and give the Tampa Buccaneers a run for their money, Thursday night's match-up against the Texans will prove to be a crucial one for the Panthers.
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