Panthers rookie Nic Scourton on lackadaisical approach before facing Saints: “Some guys got too big-headed and forgot what really goes on in the NFL.” pic.twitter.com/81AIavDXYT
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 10, 2025
The Carolina Panthers seemed to be too big for their britches in Week 10.
Sunday’s showing against the lowly New Orleans Saints was, perhaps, the biggest letdown for the organization in quite some time. Despite entering the weekend as clear favorites against a one-win team, the Panthers faltered and fumbled their way to a disappointing 17-7 defeat—and at home, no less.
Following the loss, a few players pointed to a lack of preparation as the cause for the embarrassing performance. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu was among them, telling reporters that the Panthers weren’t “locked into the small details.”
Head coach Dave Canales addressed those comments on Monday.
“Really, we just have a standard for how we work and when it’s not up to standard, it’s my job as the head coach to make sure they’re aware of it. I made them aware of it,” Canales stated. “I’ve been in the league for a while now—and I’ve seen, sometimes, you have a bad practice and you play great on Sunday. Sometimes, there’s a fantastic practice and you don’t get the results you want. So I have to look at both things.
Outside linebacker Nic Scourton also offered his two cents yesterday, and he had some interesting thoughts on the situation . . .
Carolina wasn’t particularly sharp on either side of the ball. They totaled just 175 yards of offense while allowing 388, a new season-high for New Orleans.
Scourton, to his credit, appeared to have a perfectly-sized head on Sunday—as he notched one of the Panthers’ two sacks and tied for a team-high in pressures (four).
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