The Carolina Panthers had a awful year last season going 5-11. First off, their quarterback, Cam Newton, had shoulder surgery in the offseason but then injured his foot in week two forcing him to be sidelined the remainder of the season. Second year quarterback, Kyle Allen, filled in and led the team to four straight wins bringing their record to 4-2 right before their bye week. However, it is evident the bye killed their momentum as the Panthers only won one more game for the remainder of the season. Long time head coach, Ron Rivera, was fired after the loss in week 13. Many were surprised that David Tepper, the panthers owner, didn’t just wait until the end of the season but he explained he wanted to start the search for a new coach and didn’t want to do it behind Rivera’s back. Anyway, the Panthers hired Matt Rhule, the former Baylor head coach. In addition to hiring a new coach, the Panthers also signed a new quarterback. First, the Panthers gave Cam Newton permission to seek a trade. The Panthers then signed Teddy Bridgewater, the Saints backup quarterback who started five games during Drew Brees's injury and won all five. I think Teddy Bridgewater is a great fit for the Panthers. A day after signing Bridgewater, the Panthers officially released Cam Newton since they could not find a team to trade with. The former MVP is still a free agent and it seems as if no team is interested. Although, the Panthers are coming into the season with a new coach and quarterback, they lost arguably the best linebacker in the league, Luke Kuechly, to retirement. This was very unexpected but we see early retirements becoming more and more frequent each year. I expect the Panthers to be an solid team but not necessarily good enough to make the playoffs. Below is my regular season prediction for the Carolina Panthers.
Week 1: vs. Las Vegas Raiders - win
Week 2: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers - loss
Week 3: @ Los Angeles Chargers - loss
Week 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals - win
Week 5: @ Atlanta Falcons - loss
Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears - win
Week 7: @ New Orleans Saints - loss
Week 8: vs. Atlanta Falcons - win
Week 9: @ Kansas City Chiefs - loss
Week 10: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - loss
Week 11: vs. Detroit Lions - win
Week 12: @ Minnesota Vikings - loss
Week 13: Bye Week
Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos - win
Week 15: @ Green Bay Packers - win
Week 16: @ Washington Redskins - loss
Week 17: vs. New Orleans Saints - loss
I have the Panthers going 7-9 this year which means they will most likely miss the playoffs. However, I think it's a step in the right direction given that they lost their stud linebacker and had only five wins last year. Week seven should be an interesting matchup when the Panthers visit the Saints. This will be Teddy Bridgewater's first game to New Orleans and although he doesn't pick up the win, I think He has a great performance and i wouldn't be surprised to see 60+ points in that game. the Panthers best win comes in week 15 against the Packers. Last year when these two teams faced off, it came down to the last play when Christian McCaffrey was ruled short of the goal line on the final play. The Panthers had an opportunity to tie the game if they scored the touchdown and converted a two point conversion. This year, I think the Panthers will stun the Packers and take a win in game they hold the Packers offense to 20 points or less.
*At the end of this series, once I have gone through every team, I will give my playoff predictions as well as season awards.*
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