Lea: The next four weeks will determine how good The Panthers really are
Posted October 23, 2020 8:57 p.m. EDT
3-3 up until this point for the Carolina Panthers is more than what many Panthers fans, including myself, expected through Week 6. Those three wins came without Christian McCaffrey, who went down with an ankle injury in their Week 2 loss at Tampa Bay, so naturally, the expectations will be raised, especially when McCaffrey is back. However, the next few weeks shouldn't be measured by wins, but how competitive the Panthers are in tough games.
The Panthers had a shot to win 2-of-their-3 losses and could very easily be 5-and-1. But if you take a quick glance at their schedule for the next few weeks, things will get pretty tough for Matt Rhule's crew.
Their final record shouldn't be an indicator of how successful this season was for The Panthers, rather, how competitive they are in the tough games and in their divisional games should be the marker.
As Panthers fans, we still feel the pain of the last ten weeks of the 2019 season where the Cardiac Cats almost put us into cardiac arrest, going 1-and-9, including losing 8-straight to end the season. Losses like 51-13, 29-3, 40-20, 38-6 and 42-10 didn't give fans much to look forward to this season. But if the Panthers were to go on a similar late-season slide this year, we need to pay attention to how competitive those games are.
Sunday, the Cats are taking on Divisional rivals, the New Orleans Saints. Granted, the Saints aren't the healthiest team, with Michael Thomas being ruled out due to an injury and Emmanuel Sanders being put on the COVID-19/reserve list, but neither are The Panthers. CMC is still out, cornerback Donte Jackson and wide receiver Curtis Samuel are both questionable, and let's not forget that five roster members have been placed on the COVID-19/reserve list. No matter the outcome, if Rhule can will his guys to keep this one close, it's a win in my book.
Next week, The Panthers have a return match against the Atlanta Falcons on a Thursday night. The 1-and-5 Falcons, who fired their former Head Coach Dan Quinn after their loss to Carolina, will be looking for revenge, and could have a healthy Julio Jones by then.
Week 9 could be the toughest test of them all when Carolina travels to Kansas City to take on the defending Super Bowl Champions, The Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' dynamic offense offer the biggest threat to hang 40-plus points on teams. But can the Panthers stop them enough to make it competitive?
Week 10, Rhule's crew will host Tampa Bay. As of this writing, it's being reported that Antonio Brown is expected to sign with the Buccaneers. Tampa is the only team to beat the Panthers by double-figures this season. So how will Carolina respond the second-time around?
These four games should set the tone for how competitive this team will be for the rest of the season. All three divisional opponents and the defending Super Bowl Champions. If the Panthers go 0-4 in their next four games, how competitive they are in these games will be the true test of how good this team truly is.
This is your toughest test, Matt Rhule.
