What’s next?

The 3-4 Carolina Panthers held on to first place in the NFC South thanks to a16-0 win by the 3-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the 3-5 Atlanta Falcons that featured 324 yards rushing and -2 yards passing by the Bucs. This is the company that we keep. The company we don’t keep anymore includes former defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and former defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley. The defense has been a point of contention for Panthers fans in recent years as a sort of chicken or egg scenario. Limited investment and limited success have made it difficult to fully evaluate Evero’s work on a game-by-game basis. The full course of his tenure in Charlotte, however, clearly left head coach Dave Canales dissatisfied. Some will say this firing is overdue. Others will question the timing and ultimate purpose of it at this point in the season. Regardless, we shouldn’t hold our collective breathe in anticipation of major changes for the Panthers porous defense. The fact remains that with Jaelan Phillips in and out of the lineup with injuries and Cam Jackson, Mike Jackson, Jaycee Horn, Akayleb Evans, Nic Scourton, and Thomas Incoom all on injured reserve, the Panthers are basically playing preseason football out there. That is not to say that the defense is the only problem unit the Panthers have. Their offensive line has been a specific and obvious weakness for some time. Starters Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu, and Damien Lewis have all been sorely missed throughout their various injuries. Free agent acquisitions Rasheed Walker and Luke Fortner have simply been complete disappointments. Right guard Robert Hunt’s play and mental focus may have you questioning if he ever actually did return from his 2025 torn bicep. Rookie offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, meanwhile, is doing his best out there. He could be worse, the unit as a whole however could hardly be. They helped prove two weeks in s row that the Panthers cannot win a shootout if they don’t let their quarterback shoot. Enter the 6-2 Denver Broncos, a team with twice as many wins as any team in the NFC South. The Panthers’ Week 9 opponent has a capable passing game and a relatively fearsome defensive line that sacked Patrick Mahomes twice yesterday afternoon. While they only have ten sacks on the season, they may expect to double that total against a Panthers offensive line that has surrendered 11 sacks in the last two games. They are, in short, a competent, competitive NFL team who will provide a solid test for the Panthers. The Broncos are probably the best team the Panthers have faced so far. Early season success against backup quarterbacks may have falsely inflated expectations for Carolina, but they still have limited talent on both sides of the ball. There is enough talent that they could steal a few games if they can shore up their obvious weakenesses at corner, right guard, center, left guard, and left tackle. That will be the test that they have to pass against a hungry Broncos team that is looking to build on their own divisional lead. What us next, in this context, is that test. The next few weeks will be an inflection point for these Panthers. Either they will pull themselves together through adversity or they will squander the hottest start they have had in a season since Sam Darnold was here. I’m not saying that they have to beat the Broncos to save their season, but they absolutely have to look like they belong on the same field as them. If they can do that then they can at least play a competitive December, further injuries permitting.