Panthers Are the NFL’s Trojan Horse: Why Carolina Could Sneak Into the Playoffs and Scare Everyone
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nobody builds a highlight reel around the team that wins a division at 8-9. That might be exactly why the Carolina Panthers are dangerous.
A year after winning the NFC South with a losing record and losing a wild-card game to the Rams, the Panthers (3-2) are in first place again. They have an MVP-caliber quarterback, a running game that can wear teams down and the kind of reputation that makes opponents relax. If Carolina keeps playing the way it has, it could be the Trojan horse of the NFC: a team that gets waved through the gates because nobody sees it as a threat.
The quarterback nobody saw coming
Two years ago, Bryce Young was a benched quarterback. Through five games this season, he has thrown for 1,549 yards with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. Through that stretch he is the first quarterback since Peyton Manning and Drew Brees in 2013 to throw for at least 280 yards and a touchdown in each of his team’s first five games. He also leads the NFL at 309.8 passing yards per game, a number that would have sounded absurd in his first three seasons.
Young was not perfect in last Sunday’s 25-14 win at Philadelphia. He went 20 of 39 for 281 yards and two touchdowns, and the passing game stalled for long stretches. But he did not turn the ball over, and he kept finding open space in the middle of the field. The rankings have noticed, and power rankings now place the Panthers anywhere from eighth to 15th.
Chuba Hubbard and the grind
When the offense needed to finish the Eagles, it leaned on Chuba Hubbard. He ran for 120 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, with 133 yards after contact. His 19-yard run on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter helped put Carolina up by two scores. The Panthers piled up 399 yards and 25 first downs, even though they were only 7 for 17 on third down.
It is fair to point out that Philadelphia was short-handed, with Jalen Hurts on injured reserve and its running game depleted. But Carolina also played without its starting cornerbacks and still held the Eagles to 14 points.
The weak division that opens the door
Here is the bigger opportunity. Entering Week 7, just two teams in the AFC South and NFC South combined have winning records. Carolina is one of them. Atlanta and New Orleans are both 2-4, and Tampa Bay is 1-5. Last season showed how far a division title can go, and Carolina already beat Atlanta 34-3 in Week 2.
Five of the Panthers’ final 12 games are against NFC South teams, and four of their last five are at home. The finale is a Week 18 home game against the Falcons, which could easily decide the division.
The playoff projections vary a lot, which is part of the story. ESPN’s Football Power Index had Carolina at 51 percent to make the playoffs before the bye week. DraftKings’ odds put it at 71 percent, and Pro Football Network has it at 84.2 percent. All of them see the division as the main path.
What could go wrong
The defense is the question. Before the bye, Carolina was allowing 27.3 points per game, in the bottom seven of the NFL. That includes the 59 points the Bears scored in the season opener. Starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are on injured reserve, and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has been blitzing to cover for them. Against the Eagles, linebacker Bobby Okereke had five pressures on 15 pass rushes, his most in a game.
The schedule also tightens. ESPN’s preview called Weeks 6 through 9 the toughest stretch, and Carolina is now through the first game of it.
Next up: Tampa Bay and a Thursday trip to Lambeau
Week 7: Buccaneers at Panthers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET). Tampa Bay is 1-5 after a 26-19 overtime loss to Pittsburgh, and the Bucs were starting undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels. Baker Mayfield could be back, which would make this a tougher game. Still, it is a division game at home against a struggling team, and Carolina should win it.
Week 8: Panthers at Packers (Thursday, Oct. 29). This is the real test. Green Bay is 4-2 and has won three in a row. A win in Lambeau would make the rest of the NFL pay attention. Our lean is the Packers, but it should be close.
The bottom line
If Young stays this sharp, Hubbard keeps grinding and the defense improves even a little, Carolina has a real path to a second straight division title. A division title means a home playoff game, and nobody wants to see the Panthers in January. This could be the team that gets in quietly and doesn’t leave quietly.
Want more NFL previews? Read our Week 7 NFL preview, see how the NFL standings look, and check the Panthers’ full 2026 schedule.
