What the Carolina Panthers can learn from Super Bowl LIX

The Panthers should take notes.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Brandon Walton (73) blocks Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Josh Sweat (19) at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Super Bowl LIX, which was poised to be an epic duel between two great teams, ended in shocking misery for one team, and the Carolina Panthers should have been taking notes. They did push these two teams to the absolute brink with a horrible defense, but on the biggest stage, the Panthers hopefully saw and learned a few things.

What the Panthers should take from a dominant Eagles Super Bowl win

One thing the Carolina Panthers have learned already should have been very reinforced last night. They learned last year how valuable it is to protect the quarterback, and that was one of the most glaring issues that the Kansas City Chiefs had.

If the Panthers are to get on that stage, they have to be equipped to deal with elite defensive lines. The Eagles made life miserable up front, and it didn't matter that the Chiefs had a historically good quarterback. If your quarterback, be it Bryce Young or Patrick Mahomes, is not protected, bad things (like two turnovers induced by pressure at the Super Bowl) happen.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

They should've also learned this already, but defense arguably does win championships. That Eagles defense was incredible, and they gave the Chiefs no breathing room on offense. The Panthers quite literally could not be further from that level, but that's what GM Dan Morgan and company should be targeting. Offense is nice, but it's hard to win without a good defense.

The Panthers should probably take note that those two things are connected. On the flip side of the QB protection lesson, Carolina hopefully noticed that pressuring the quarterback, as Philly did all night long, makes the rest of the defense's job much easier. The Panthers have a pretty toothless pass rush and defensive line as a whole, and that's got to change.

Perhaps the Panthers can take solace in the fact that when they did match up with the eventual champions, on the road in Philly as well, they played arguably better than the vaunted Chiefs did. Young had one turnover to Mahomes' three, and the defense only allowed 22 points, not 40.

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