Panthers schedule: How limited fans could help on the road

New Orleans (Week 7)

The Carolina Panthers schedule is no stranger to the inhospitable environment inside the Superdome in New Orleans. Division rivalry games will always be tough, no matter the players on the field. Given the tight battle between the Saints and Panthers for division supremacy over the past five years, fans tend to pack both arenas for these matchups.

But the noise in the closed-in Superdome has few rivals in the NFL. Pair that with the drama between New Orleans head coach Sean Payton and fact that Panthers starting QB Teddy Bridgewater spent his last two seasons in New Orleans and you’ve got a recipe for a lot of emotion in one of the real must-see games on the Panthers schedule in 2020.

If Who Dat Nation is restricted to a smaller attendance or the Superdome is empty, could that help out Bridgewater and the offense manage the pressure? It certainly would be a sight to behold, for one of only two venues last year to boast more than 100 percent average attendance with a capacity over 70,000.

Atlanta (Week 5)

Another large and loud arena, Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been a tough place to find a win for Carolina lately. The Panthers haven’t won a game in Atlanta since 2014 when the Falcons were still playing in the Georgia Dome.

While the Falcons haven’t been world-beaters the past two seasons, they still present a tough task for a young team on the road. Playing in front of anything less than 72,000 rowdy fans inside a booming dome could go a long way towards helping the Panthers break their losing streak in the I-85 Rivalry.

Tampa Bay (Week 2)

Typically, Raymond James Stadium would be nowhere near this list. The Buccaneers are used to playing in front of crowds that average around 80 percent capacity. For good reason too, the team has had just two winning seasons in the past decade.

All that was before Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski came to town. Brady has taken Cigar City by storm since signing there in free agency. Fans of the Buccaneers have something to be excited about for the first time since the start of the Gruden era.

But all that could be for naught, if fans aren’t allowed in the stands. The Panthers are 6-4 in Tampa Bay since 2010- a stretch that saw dismal fan attendance. Could Covid-19 help keep that streak alive despite the arrival of Brady in 2020?

Other road matchups

The Panthers remaining three road games, Minnesota, Green Bay, and Washington could also be affected by lack of fans, but not as starkly.

Green Bay in December will be brutal no matter how loud Lambeau Field is. While Minnesota has packed the seats of their new arena over the past two seasons, at around 65,000 it’s right in the middle of the NFL for crowd size.

The Washington game, late in the season, could have major implications for the #TankForTrevor sweepstakes and would likely not draw much of a crowd regardless. This is one of the rare games on the Panthers schedule where they might actually be favored.