Even though the Carolina Panthers lost Cam Newton early in the season, Kyle Allen and the defense have kept the team afloat and they currently sit with a 4-2 record. If the season ended today, they would be the 7th seed in the NFC. That would place them one spot out of the playoff picture.

Even though the Panthers are a playoff contender, I think they will quickly fall off, so let's breakdown some reasons why they are going to have some struggles going forward.

Cam Newton

Kyle Allen has had a really good start to the season, but I have a strong feeling that Cam Newton is going to get his job back once he is healthy enough. A potential return for Newton seems to be looming as well.

Even though they will say Newton is healthy when he comes back, I am not sure that Newton will ever be back to being fully healthy again.

The Panthers would be making a big mistake by deciding to go away from the quarterback that is winning games in favor of an option that has struggled.

If Allen stays the starter, maybe they can stay afloat but with Newton under center, it's not going to happen.

Tough schedule

Coming out of their bye week, the Carolina Panthers' schedule is brutal. They have to go on the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and Indianapolis Colts. They also have to play at home against the Saints, Seattle Seahawks, and the Tennessee Titans, which could also give them fits.

While they are going to win some of those games, their playoff hopes would be much closer to reality if they had the schedule of the Patriots. They get to play the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets each twice a year.

A lot of teams have a tough stretch to their season, but the rest of this season is going to be a brutal schedule and they might be favored in less than half of the games. That is especially the case if Drew Brees is healthy when the Panthers play their two games against the Saints.

Inconsistent defense

One of the biggest issues going forward for this Panthers team is their inconsistency on defense. This is an area that has plagued them since the start of the season.

Just three games ago, the Panthers went on the road to Houston and allowed Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans to score only ten points. The Panthers' defense was flying high and there was a lot of confidence following the game. However, they never managed to build off it.

The Panthers were at home when they gave up 27 points to Gardner Minshew and the Jaguars. The offense bailed them out by scoring 34 points, but that level of production isn't always going to be there to bail the defense out.

Considering the strength of the offenses of the teams on their upcoming schedule, I see some struggles coming for the Panthers' defense. Those struggles will take them out of the playoff race.