4 Reasons the Panthers Can Make the Playoffs
Heading into the 2021 season, there are not going to be many people that view the Carolina Panthers as a team that can reach the postseason. However, with the signings made in free agency, the trade for QB Sam Darnold, and the 11-player draft haul, there's a chance Carolina could sneak into the playoffs.
How is it possible? Here's how:
Improved quarterback play
Teddy Bridgewater was a serviceable quarterback in 2020 but that's about it. He didn't win games down the stretch, struggled to finish off drives with touchdowns, and just flat out misread coverages. Sam Darnold comes into the fold after three seasons in New York and finally has a chance to succeed in the league. He had zero weapons, protection, and coaching while with the Jets, and now, has a plethora of weapons and a really young and talented coaching staff. The offensive line still needs some work but hey, it's an improvement from what he has had.
Darnold gives the Panthers a mobile quarterback that can make plays with his feet or extend plays while his receivers get open. Having a dual-threat quarterback makes things a lot tougher on the opposing defensive coordinator because he has to game plan for the QB run as well. No, Darnold is not Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray but defenses respect his ability to run the football and it just gives an added dimension to an already explosive offense. One area Teddy Bridgewater struggled in was the deep ball. Although Darnold doesn't have the strongest arm in the world it is a vast improvement over Bridgewater. This allows offensive coordinator Joe Brady to open things up and let Darnold rip it down the field to Robby Anderson, DJ Moore, Terrace Marshall Jr., and the others. Darnold doesn't need to be great to have success, he just needs to be efficient and limit the mistakes.
Healthy Christian McCaffrey
Running back Christian McCaffrey missed 13 games last season due to a variety of injuries. Most will say that there's no value in running backs but I beg to differ. McCaffrey is not your ordinary back - he's a dynamic weapon that can be used in a multitude of ways. What he brings to the offense in terms of rushing the football and catching it out of the backfield makes him way more valuable than just your ordinary running back. Two years ago, he recorded over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. His production was essentially the combination of two starters wrapped up into one. If he can play 90% or more of the team's games in 2021, this offense will be one of the best in the league statistically.
Stronger defense
Carolina's defense gave up so many 3rd down conversions a year ago and outside of Brian Burns, had trouble getting to the quarterback consistently. Over the last couple of months, GM Scott Fitterer addressed those two problems via the draft and free agency.
The secondary lost Rasul Douglas to the Raiders and Corn Elder to the Lions but brought in former Lion Rashaan Melvin and former Pro Bowler A.J. Bouye. With the 8th overall pick, the team drafted South Carolina corner Jaycee Horn which put the final stamp of emphasis in the secondary. Horn is a long, tough, physical corner that can match up with just about any receiver and take him out of the opposing team's game plan. Horn and second-year safety Jeremy Chinn will be flying all over the field making plays in the back end for the Panthers.
Shaq Thomspon was the only reliable linebacker that the Panthers had in 2020 and even he didn't have his best season. Carolina signed former Charger Denzel Perryman and former Jet Frankie Luvu to help sure up the linebacking unit.
In terms of applying pressure, the Panthers signed Haason Reddick who is coming off of a career-high 12.5 sack season. Pair him wiht Brian Burns or Yetur Gross-Matos on the outside and Derrick Brown and DaQuan Jones on the interior of the line, and all of a sudden the Panthers have a formidable pass rush.
There will still be some bumps and bruises throughout the course of the season for a young defense but overall, it's a unit that should make massive strides in 2021.
Favorable start to schedule
The back end of the Panthers' schedule is brutal, and I mean absolutely brutal. They end the season at Buffalo, vs Tampa Bay, at New Orleans, and at Tampa Bay. However, the first 9-10 weeks on the schedule are favorable for the Panthers which means there is a lot of winnable games. The Panthers will have the Jets, Saints, Texans, Cowboys, Eagles, Vikings, Giants, Falcons, and Patriots for the first nine games. There's no reason to believe that the Panthers can't be above .500 to this point in the season. A strong start could go a long way in giving this young team confidence before heading into that four-game gauntlet at the end of the season.
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