Dave Canales echoes familiar line from Ron Rivera on latest loss for Panthers

Things are supposed to be different for the 2025 Carolina Panthers - and in many ways they are. This team has showed steady improvement since hitting rock bottom in the 2023 season, going from two wins to five wins to eight heading into their regular season finale.

As good as they look compared to the bottom-barrel Panthers we grew accustomed to from 2019-2023, in many ways they're still suffering from the same dysfunction.

That ghost re-emerged in Sunday's press conference for Panthers head coach Dave Canales, who echoed an all-too-familiar line that was commonly heard from ex-Carolina coach Ron Rivera. Here's Canales on the missed opportunity that was their latest loss, per Joe Person at The Athletic.

Dave Canales on Panthers' Missed Opportunity

“We know what’s in front of us. It’s clearly defined. It was going to come down to this game — us handling our business and facing the Bucs one more time on the last game of the season. Couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Canales said. “We’ve gotta get over the fact that we missed an opportunity with the Bucs losing that game. But our focus has to go to the next one — really quickly.”

What's so frustrating is that Canales is right. Despite being vastly outmatched by a juggernaut of a Seahawks team, the Panthers did have opportunities to pull off their third upset of a No. 1 seed in the season.

Had Jaycee Horn not grabbed Jaxon Smith-Njigba's facemask on a 3rd and 20 the Panthers would have gotten the ball back with all the momentum swinging their way with a chance to tie the game with just one touchdown drive.

Had Bryce Young not underthrown Tetairoa McMillan on his interception, who knows how that drive might have ended up.

Had Chuba Hubbard not fumbled on the ensuing possession, the end result might have been different.

Might have, could have, and would have are words you hear when a team doesn't live up to its full potential, and that's something that has happened far too often in the two years since Dave Canales took over Rivera's former position.

More than any one mistake by an individual player, Canales lack of aggressive playcalling is what sank this team yesterday. In the end, Bryce Young only attempted three passes of 10 yards or more, all of which fell incomplete.

While you have to credit Seattle's defense for taking away those opportunities, choosing not to attack a unit that strong is to effectively surrender before the battle even begins.

Canales has had good playcalling games in wins over the Rams and the Falcons, but he's also had a half-dozen games where the scheme is something you'd expect in a preseason game when the coach is trying to protect his playbook.

The hard truth is that Bryce Young is being held back by Canales, not the other way around. He may not have been able to beat that Seahawks defense anyway, but we'll never know until the Panthers find someone who's willing to take more chances.

Kneeling out the final possession should eliminate any lingering doubts about Canales' ability to lead this team. They weren't going to score 17 points in two minutes, but to not even try speaks to a weak and conservative mindset that's going to hold this team back as long as Canales is in charge.

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