ESPN ranks three 0-2 NFL teams lower than the Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers won two of their last three games in 2024 and looked like a team on the rise. There haven’t been any signs of improvement so far in 2025.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jordan Burch (52) tackles Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Entering Thursday night’s clash between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, 10 teams had won their first two games, while another 10 were off to an 0-2 start. The Bills raised their record to 3-0 with a 31-21 victory.

As for the winless, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did a ranking of those 10 clubs from top to bottom. The reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, off to a 0-2 start for the first time since Andy Reid’s second season with the franchise in 2014, are number one on his list.

When it came to Dave Canales’s squad, it was much closer to the bottom than the upper half. The only teams below the No. 7 Carolina Panthers are (from 8-10) are the Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and Cleveland Browns.

“At least it’s less depressing than it was this time last year!” said Barnwell. “After Week 2 in 2024, the Panthers were benching Bryce Young for Andy Dalton, a sign that the organization had given up on its 2023 No. 1 pick after a little more than one season. The Panthers told everyone who would listen that they weren’t actually moving on from their QB of the future, and to their credit, Young came back later in the season and looked like a much better passer.”

Sep 14, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales looks on during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Carolina Panthers are off to another 0-2 start

Canales’s team dropped those first two games a year ago, to the Saints and Chargers, by a combined 73-13 score. Young returned to start the final 10 games, throwing 15 TD passes and running for five touchdowns in those outings. Two weeks into this season, the Panthers have dropped their first two contests (on the road to the Jaguars and Cardinals) by a combined 53-32 count, and Young has committed all five of Carolina’s turnovers in the club's two setbacks.

“Heading into 2025,” added Barnwell, “there was a renewed optimism surrounding Young, who looked a lot more like the guy the Panthers were hoping to add when they traded a massive haul to the Bears to acquire him. Well, two games into 2025, some of that optimism has already evaporated. Young ranks 29th in QBR…The worst part has been turnovers. Young has thrown three picks through two games, all of which have been on ill-advised decisions…”

Sep 14, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Josh Sweat (10) tackles Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) during the first quarter at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Barnwell also explained that the team’s issues go beyond just the play of its third-year signal-caller. The offensive line “has been an issue.” Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit is “not off to a great start.”

“This is Year 3 with Young and Evero,” stated Barnwell, “and it’s Year 2 with coach Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan. We should be seeing signs of growth. But I’m not sure there have been many on the film or in the data through two games.”

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