The Panthers Don't Have an Identity — And That Might Be Their Biggest Strength

I feel like I've asked the same question about the Panthers every week this season: What exactly is this team?

After Chicago put 59 points on them in Week 1, I thought I knew, and it wasn't good. Then Carolina went to Atlanta and won 34-3, and I started wondering if maybe I overreacted. They lost a game in Cleveland they probably could've won, then came home and beat a Detroit team I didn't think they were going to beat.

So, yeah, I haven't exactly had this team figured out.

I kept waiting for Carolina to show me that one thing it was going to be every week. Maybe the running game would carry the offense. Maybe the defense would be good enough to keep them in games. Maybe Bryce Young would take another step, and Carolina would start throwing it all over the place.

I'm starting to think I've been looking for something that isn't there, and maybe that's not a bad thing.

Maybe That's Carolina's Identity

Tetairoa Mcmillan — Oct 4, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) carries the ball after a reception defended by Detroit Lions safety Chuck Clark (36) during the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Look at what the Panthers have already dealt with through four games. Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are on injured reserve. Xavier Legette is on IR, Jalen Coker missed the Detroit game, and the offensive line has been moved around because of injuries.

It feels like every week I'm writing about somebody else who isn't going to play, yet Carolina is still 2-2. That's nothing to celebrate by itself, but after watching what happened against Chicago and then seeing the injuries start piling up, I didn't think I'd feel this good about Carolina going into the bye.

The offense is probably the biggest reason I do. Young has thrown for 1,268 yards through four games, and Carolina is averaging more than 400 yards of offense. I thought Young would be better this season, but I definitely didn't expect the Panthers to be doing this offensively.

Sunday night might've been the first time I watched them and thought, maybe this is what this offense is supposed to look like.

Young threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns. Chuba Hubbard finally got going with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Tetairoa McMillan caught 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn't Young having to do everything, and it wasn't Carolina trying to force the running game when it wasn't there.

They just went with what was working.

I've spent four weeks trying to decide if Carolina should be a running team or if it should put everything on Young. Maybe I've been making that more complicated than it needs to be. If Hubbard is running as he did against Detroit, give him the ball, and if Young and McMillan are killing somebody through the air, keep throwing it.

I don't really care how they get there as long as it works.

Dave Canales said this week that the bye gives Carolina a chance to look at some of the things it spent all offseason working on and be willing to move away from the stuff that hasn't worked. I like that because four actual games should matter more than whatever the Panthers thought this team was going to be back in August.

If something isn't working, stop doing it. If something is, do more of it. I know it's not always that simple, but at some point it kind of is.

The defense is where I'm still trying to figure things out. Carolina gave up 59 points and 552 yards to Chicago, turned around and held Atlanta to three points, and then gave up 452 yards to Detroit. Those are three completely different performances, and I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with that.

But I keep going back to the end of the Detroit game. The Lions had a chance to go down the field and win it, and Carolina needed one stop.

They got it.

Giving up 452 yards is still a problem, and I'm sure that's going to be one of the things Carolina looks at during the bye. But when the game was sitting there at the end Sunday night, the defense made the play it had to make. I'm starting to care more about that than whether everything looks good for four quarters.

Carolina hasn't won the same way twice. The defense carried them against Atlanta, Young has carried the offense at times, and Hubbard finally got going against Detroit. Somehow, the Panthers have also kept finding guys to fill in while the injuries keep piling up.

Maybe I've been waiting for Carolina to show me what kind of team it is when it's already been doing it.

I still don't know how good the Panthers are. Four games aren't enough for me to go that far, especially when I thought they might be terrible after Week 1. But I think I understand them a little better now.

Maybe Carolina's identity isn't one thing. Maybe it's figuring out what works that week and finding a way to win with it.

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