The Carolina Panthers are in the playoffs. Say that out loud sometime today so that you can hear it in your own voice. It\u2019s been long enough that you might need a minute to really hear it. At 8-9 the Panthers are going to be this year\u2019s \u201cleast likely to\u201d in every category in every game in the post season. For teams like the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Philadelphia Eagles, being in the playoffs comes with expectations of success. They have to win a game or two, maybe even the Super Bowl, to keep their fans happy. For the Panthers, it really is just an honor to be here.<\/p>\n
The Panthers haven\u2019t been in the playoffs since the 2017 season. They have neither won their division nor a playoff game since 2015. There are as many differences as you can think of between this team and either of those teams, but the only thing they have in common is the only thing that matters: they all made the playoffs. Go ahead and say it again if you\u2019re struggling with the concept. It\u2019s OK if you\u2019re rusty rooting for your own team in January.<\/p>\n
How did we even get here?<\/p>\n
Over the past several weeks, fans have been split into two camps. One has been hopeful to see a playoff game and didn\u2019t care how the Panthers slipped into the playoffs. The other was worried that the Panthers wouldn\u2019t deserve the chance if they didn\u2019t earn it with a declarative victory. Any one over the Saints, Seahawks, or Bucs in Weeks 15, 17, or 18 would have done. Unfortunately for that second camp, the 7-6 Panthers went 1-3 after their bye in Week 14 and very much slid into the playoffs through a back door tie-breaker in a sad, hapless division.<\/p>\n
Over the past many years the Panthers have endured Kyle Allen, P.J. Walker, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield being coached by Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule, and Frank Reich. Fans have had to make do with seven win seasons as a highlight, where the playoffs were out of reach by midseason and the future was as uncertain as the quarterback position.<\/p>\n
The 2025 Panthers shouldn\u2019t be different.<\/p>\n
They have more warts than you can count, somehow making it all the way to wild-card weekend without a simple, resounding answer on Bryce Young that every fans agrees on. The version of the Panthers that was confident and riding a winning streak into the playoffs never materialized. This is not a team that should be expected to succeed. Their first opponent knows that and also knows they cannot underestimate them. The Los Angeles Rams are first up and, having already lost to these Panthers this season, are probably hungry for revenge.<\/p>\n
Where are the Panthers going from here?<\/p>\n
To the divisional round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs if they can beat the Rams a second time this season. None of that history of bad quarterbacks and worse coaches matters today. The Panthers are here and are truly in one-game-at-a-time territory. Of course, winning is a tall order and one that has to be delivered with flawless execution and boundless luck against one of the best teams in football that has been playing in the best division in football. The Rams and the NFC West are pretty much the opposite of the Panthers and the NFC South, and the opening odds<\/a> for this game show it.<\/p>\n The Panthers had plenty of opportunities to show they were \u201cfor real\u201d this season. Whether it was the Buffalo Bills game, the San Francisco 49ers Monday Night Football game, either of their games against the New Orleans Saints, or in their last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead those opportunities accounted for five of their nine losses and, in each of them, their offense showed up flat. That was how Carolina, Young, and Dave Canales responded to raised stakes this season.<\/p>\n The playoffs could be different. Sure, the stakes are higher than ever\u2014lose and they go home for the season, keep (start) winning and bring home the first Lombardi trophy to the Carolinas\u2014but they feel less real than the idea that the Panthers are playing with house money. Nobody at all expects them to beat the Rams. Less than nobody expects them to win the divisional round or advance to the Super Bowl if they do pull off the impossible and win their wild-card game.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re in the \u201cit\u2019s an honor to be here seat,\u201d then all success is gravy. Even just competing hard in a loss can feel like a win and pay huge dividends for the culture and program that Canales is still trying to build.<\/p>\n What if I have zero faith in Bryce Young?<\/p>\n You should rejoice that he gets a big national stage to fall flat on.<\/p>\n