The Panthers have been embarrassed in preseason. Here's why it doesn't matter

Through two preseason games, the Carolina Panther s have been outscored 50-13. They have looked good on offense for exactly one drive. It has been ugly, and with the starters not expected to play in this week's finale, it could get a whole lot uglier. The Panthers could easily go winless with a horrible point differential.

Does that matter at all? You always want the team to look good and to win in the preseason. However, the Panthers shouldn't be too worried. Dave Canales said he was frustrated Saturday, but there's no real cause for panic right now.

Don't panic about the Panthers' preseason

Aug 16, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) calls a play against the Houston Texans in the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Certainly, you've heard the factoid that the 0-16 Detroit Lions actually went 4-0 in the preseason, indicating that the preseason does not matter in the slightest. However, you do want to see your starters play well, and for the most part, that's not been true for the Panthers.

It really doesn't matter, though. The offense has had four series to play, and they've been split into two different games. It is incredibly hard to get a feel for the game and get into a rhythm. Offenses, even on the absolute best teams, have had a couple of drives that go wrong even in good games.

It happens during the best offensive performances. You can't be perfect on every drive without getting a chance to really get into the flow of the game. The Panthers had two stalled drives on offense before the starters took a seat, and against a pretty good defense, that's not exactly shocking.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers' starting defense has actually looked encouraging. They have been solid in their very limited action, and the bulk of those 50 points across two games has been scored on the backups.

Yes, you absolutely do want the backups to be good. If the starters get hurt for Carolina, they are very clearly toast and have no shot of doing anything in 2025. But you can't reasonably expect them to have not only rebuilt the starters of the league's worst defense but the backups, too.

It's fair to say the Panthers didn't totally fix the starting defense in one offseason, because that would be almost impossible. Therefore, it's even more fair to say that the Panthers are going to have bad backup defenders, too. That's true on offense as well. This team won seven games in the last two years, and all of a sudden, in one offseason, they're supposed to be three players deep at every position?

While the Panthers would certainly have loved to have more success and momentum heading into Week 1, that outing is still a few weeks away. Even if they had scored on all four drives and made big plays on all four defensive series, that momentum would've ground to a hault by the time Week 1 arrived.

The Panthers have looked bad. You know who else has looked bad? The Kansas City Chiefs. The Detroit Lions have, too, and those are two legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Maybe the Panthers aren't any good, but two lackluster preseason games isn't the definitive proof it might seem like.

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