News Panthers Team Notes

[Carolina Panthers]

The Optimist: Meaningful January football?

The Carolina Panthers have exceeded fan expectations, doubled Bryce Young’s career high season win total, and managed an impressive load of offensive line injuries, all with a week to spare in the 2025 season. Yes, the hope this season was that the question about Young’s ability to play in the NFL would be soundly and positively settled by now. Yes, second year head coach Dave Canales has demonstrated a less-than-perfect ability to manage and call games in high leverage moments. But that’s all stuff to dissect this offseason.

Today, the Panthers still have the opportunity to make the playoffs. They have the opportunity to finish the season with a winning record. Perhaps they have lost the opportunity for a ten-win season, but that was always a pie-in-the-sky joke. This teams is at least a good offseason and, probably, an upgrade at quarterback away from truly threatening anyone. But right now they are scrappy and in a fun place to the end season, even if they aren’t always fun to watch on the field every week.

And that’s it. Every roller coaster ends. Whether we climb one last little hill or continue to slide down into the offseason, it’s all over soon. Let’s enjoy our second consecutive week being atop the NFC South. Let’s enjoy playing a game that matters in January(!) for the first time in forever. The offseason is long, let’s not jump into the misery of debating draft position and free agent options when we have a realistic dream of a home playoff game. Right now that is projected to be a redemption game against the 49ers. Usually we say don’t look ahead, but that’s for the players. We can enjoy this rarefied air all we want because it won’t last long. But it’s here for the first time in eight years, so take a deep breath and hold it—metaphorically, please—until Sunday.

Source: https://www.catscratchreader.com/ca...7493/the-optimist-meaningful-january-football