Since their last playoff appearance in 2018, the Panthers have undergone many changes. Nobody at the time thought that something like this would happen to a team that lost a Super Bowl just three years prior. 

Since 2018, the Panthers have practically flipped the roster, with new faces coming in left and right. They’ve gone through five different starting quarterbacks over these past four years. Injuries to star players, such as Christian McCaffery and Cam Newton, have hampered the team.

The Panthers at the start of 2022 were looking towards the future with young prominent stars who they thought would help their team grow to become the powerhouse they once were. The Panthers had a star running back Christain McCaffery, wide receivers Robbie Anderson and DJ Moore, and you can’t forget the young talented faces on defense like Brian Burns, Jeremy Chinn, Shaq Thompson, Derrick Brown, and Jaycee Horn. With newly quarterback Baker Mayfield, they looked to make a run for a wildcard spot and/or possibly win the division. 

But the year didn’t start out in their favor. They had rough back-to-back losses to the Cleveland Browns in week one and the New York Giants in week two. They got their first win in week three against their divisional rival, the New Orleans Saints.  The joy wouldn’t last long as they lost their next three games to teams from the NFC West division. 

Leading up to this moment, many have anticipated a “dumpster fire sale,” as in they’re going to trade away all of their good players and try to acquire draft picks for the future.  So it began.

The first thing they did was fire head coach Matt Rhule, as well as many others from his coaching staff. The second move made was trading wide receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals for a sixth and seventh-round draft pick. Then came the move that shocked the fans. McCaffery was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a second, third, fourth, and fifth-round pick.  

Now that they lost their first wide receiver option and their franchise’s best running back, it looked like a season to scrape up and get ready for next year. Then a miracle happened.

This past Sunday, the Panthers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Tom Brady and the crew featuring Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones, and many more stars.  The Panthers remarkably won over the reigning division champions 21-3. The defense looked spectacular as they locked up the veteran Brady,  and the offense showed some grit and grind with second-year running back Chubba Hubbard. 

After this big win, the Panthers are only a game behind in the division. If they beat the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday they will be winning the division. Things are looking to be on the upside for the Carolina Panthers.