Ranking the Carolina Panthers’ 2020 opponents by toughness
By Dean Jones
Ranking the opponents on the Carolina Panthers schedule in 2020 by toughness.
The Carolina Panthers head into the 2020 season with optimism after gutting their roster during the first year of a rebuild. Although this might not come with a winning record initially. It should give them a solid foundation from which to build a possible contender in the future.
Their schedule is full of teams that can realistically harbor ambitions of either winning a Super Bowl or making the postseason. It is going to be a challenging time for the Carolina Panthers. But if they can emerge from the campaign with encouraging signs, that is all one can really hope for at the present time.
It is going to be a steep learning curve both for their young roster and the coaching staff, who are relatively devoid of experience working in the NFL. They come in with a fresh set of ideas, and Carolina has given the decision-makers plenty of rope when it comes to parting ways with some prominent locker room leaders in recent months.
Just how this translates into performance and results throughout next season is another matter. Some games appear far more winnable than others. So the Panthers must make the most out of these opportunities when they arise to give them a chance of beating their consensus over-under of 5.5 currently.
We took a look at Carolina’s opponents and ranked them in order of toughness.
team. 58. . . . Washington Commanders. 13
Carolina Panthers’ schedule toughness: Washington Redskins (No. 13)
Much like what is going on with the Carolina Panthers, the Washington Redskins are also in the first year of a rebuild. And things are not expected to make a drastic turnaround in 2020.
Former Panthers’ head coach Ron Rivera has some useful pass-rushers to call upon. But the quarterback situation with Dwayne Haskins is something that causes the most concern heading into the season.
If the second-year pro doesn’t show what he is capable of. Then Washington might be in a strong position to take a franchise signal-caller such as Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft.