Panthers' Path to Playoffs is Not As Difficult As Everyone Seems to Think

Carolina's playoff chances are severely underrated in latest rankings.

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Coming off a 2025 season in which the Carolina Panthers won the NFC South and made the playoffs, the Panthers also improved after the NFC Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. They've had a good offseason.

The 2025 season ended with Carolina's defense getting torn apart by Matthew Stafford on a two-minute drive. So what do the Panthers do? Add high-level defensive players. Jaelan Phillips at EDGE and Devin Lloyd at inside linebacker transform this defense, giving the Panthers elite-level talent on all three levels.

Despite an offseason where Carolina's roster has become more complete than ever since Dave Canales arrived, the Panthers are still heavily doubted. That may not be fair.

NFL Analyst Ranks Panthers' Path to the Playoffs as Highly Difficult

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When a team wins its division, its schedule the year after is much more difficult. Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon dropped his rankings of every NFL team's path to the playoffs in 2026. Due to that schedule, Gagnon gives Carolina very little chance to return to postseason play.

Amongst all 32 teams in the NFL, the Panthers slotted at No. 26 on Gagnon's path to the 2026 playoffs rankings. The other basis for Carolina's placement is the fact that Gagnon doesn't trust Bryce Young, which isn't completely unfair despite improving in year three.

The schedule certainly looks daunting on paper, as the Panthers face six teams that were in the playoffs last year. In addition to those six teams, the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions are also on Carolina's schedule, two teams that are projected to make it back to the postseason in 2026.

Even going against those eight playoff-caliber teams, Carolina isn't going to go 0-8 in that stretch; they're good enough to at least win three of those games. The other reason the path to the postseason isn't as daunting as it looks on paper is the division.

There is no team in the NFC South that's clearly levels above the rest of the division. The Saints are on the best trajectory, having a talented second-year QB in Tyler Shough and an improved offense with the additions of WR Jordyn Tyson and RB Travis Etienne.

The Buccaneers and Falcons both have major question marks. Atlanta's QB room feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Both Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr have major injury concerns, and that's on top of both of them performing poorly in 2025.

For Tampa, it feels like the wheels are falling off that wagon a little bit. QB Baker Mayfield is in a public contract dispute with the franchise, WR Mike Evans departed to suit up for the San Francisco 49ers, and news broke this week of Tampa's star DT Vita Vea requesting a trade.

These are all reasons for the one fatal flaw in Gagon's rankings.

Panthers Should Not Rank Lowest Amongst NFC South Teams

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Along with the No. 26 ranking, Gagnon has the Panthers ranked the lowest among the four NFC South teams. A pretty shocking placement, especially behind the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta is already having QB issues, and we're not even into August. Neither QB is available right now, as Tagovailoa is dealing with back tightness, and Penix is still recovering from a torn left ACL.

The Falcons are already signing more QBs, bringing on Cooper Rush, a designated backup QB who's played for the Cowboys and Ravens.

Carolina may have a harder schedule than the Falcons, but the Panthers also have stability, which already can't be said for the Falcons. In general, the Panthers have things the other NFC South teams do not, which is why they just shouldn't be last.