There’s nothing quite like Week 1 in the NFL. It is the one time of year when hope springs eternal. Where every team, every coach, every player, and every fan thinks their squad has a legitimate chance at making some noise. A fresh, clean slate does wonders for everyone.
Well, that is, unless you’re the Carolina Panthers.
Last year, the Panthers were the worst team in pro football. Their competition for that title wasn’t close. On a week-by-week basis, the Panthers were either reinventing new, mundane ways to lose or imploding in a manner that suggested they were actually a decrepit department building needing a controlled demolition, not a football team. Ex-head coach Frank Reich was fired at midseason, Bryce Young looked like a bust for the better part of his entire rookie year, and owner David Tepper seemingly wasted no time making himself look as vile as possible in the public eye. It was a horror show from top to bottom in Charlotte.
The funny thing is, as they enter the Dave Canales era, the Panthers’ immediate future somehow seems even bleaker. There’s no other reasonable conclusion after watching the New Orleans Saints put on a merciless 47-10 beatdown to start the season.
Dearest readers, Young threw a pick on his first play of the 2024 season. The first play! He also didn’t even complete half of his passes. As an offense, the Panthers averaged a putrid 3.5 yards per play. They crossed midfield three times all afternoon, showing zero identity or cohesion in the process. On a Sunday filled with up-and-down offensive performances from many NFL teams, the Panthers were the most uninspiring by far. There is nothing this offense can take into next week to count or build on.
So much for that Diontae Johnson addition giving Young a new friend.
For as bad as the Panthers’ offense with Young is — and don’t get me wrong, it’s awful — the situation on defense is grimmer.
No one confuses Derek Carr’s glorified pop-gun, conservative Saints offense for being an unstoppable flamethrower. Far from it, in fact. That didn’t matter against the hapless Panthers. New Orleans nearly doubled up Carolina in total first downs and total yards. The Saints scored on eight of 10 possessions, with two inconsequential punts coming at the end of the game only once Carr was done for the day. This was akin to a scrimmage for the Saints, not a real regular-season matchup. That’s how little resistance the Panthers provided against a division “rival.”
It’s almost as if there was never a Panthers defense on the field in the first place.
What should be scary for the Panthers is the degree to which nothing has changed. If I took this game and compared it to any of Carolina’s many losses in 2023, they’d be indistinguishable without taking a closer look. This Panthers team won two games last year, and while I know it’s Week 1, it already looks like it’s stuck in a depressing neutral. At this point, I’m having a challenging time imagining this Panthers team with this specific quarterback and owner ever enjoying any success at all.
The ceiling for “success” is underneath the floor for the NFL’s answer to the unmoored Chicago White Sox.
Elsewhere in Week 1 in the NFL, Caleb Williams was saved by the incredible Chicago Bears defense, Russell Wilson showed he’s way too committed to his bit, and Tom Brady is really gonna need to loosen up in the announcing booth. Let’s dive into For The Win’s first NFL Awards of the 2024 season.
