Panthers’ power rankings round-up ahead of Week 2

Where did the Carolina Panthers end up in the power rankings following their opening weekend reverse to the Las Vegas Raiders?

Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season is in the books and it proved to be one that got away for the Carolina Panthers.

The team made their return to competitive action for the first time since Week 17 of the 2019 campaign against the Las Vegas Raiders. Much has changed across the Carolina Panthers since then. But they did perform well in parts before eventually falling to a 34-30 loss.

Lessons will undoubtedly be learned by players and coaching staff alike. New head coach Matt Rhule had communication issues during the first half. And a crucial play-call that went wrong on fourth-and-one late in the game may have potentially cost them an all-important opening weekend victory.

The Panthers need to move on quickly and attention has already turned to their trip to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. This promises to be a stern test of their credentials against a team that has lofty ambitions of winning it all after acquiring the likes of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in the offseason.

It was a tale of two halves for Carolina at Bank of America Stadium. But what did the national media think of the Panthers’ performance in comparison to the rest of the league?

Let’s take a look at the weekly power rankings roundup.

Carolina Panthers in the power rankings after Week 1.

We start with a positive move for the Panthers over at NFL.com, with the organization moving up two spots to No. 27 despite their opening game reverse. They did highlight the strange use of star running back Christian McCaffrey, especially early on. But added that Carolina’s offense showed some promise with Teddy Bridgewater under center.

The impact made by Jeremy Chinn on his professional debut was the topic for discussion over at ESPN, who moved the Panthers down one place to No. 30. The second-round pick made a big splash after starting at outside linebacker and moving back into the top-64 selections already looks to be a masterstroke by the front office.

Things looked a bit bleaker in the power rankings from Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, and Pro Football Talk power rankings, which all had the Panthers at No. 31 and just one position off the last place.

Yahoo Sports also listed the Panthers at No. 31 following their narrow loss to the Raiders. Writer Frank Schwab stated that putting up 30 points in a defeat might not be an uncommon occurrence for Carolina in 2020 given their obvious concerns on the defensive side of the ball.

"Carolina put up 30 points and lost. That will be a theme this season. The Panthers are going to give up a lot of points, but they have a lot of playmakers on offense, including Robby Anderson, who had 115 yards and might have a big season away from Adam Gase. It’ll be a fun team to watch."

It is clear that this is going to be a work in progress for the Panthers. Their defense needs to step up considerably in the coming weeks after a less than stellar showing overall in Week 1. But that might be easier said than done given the strength of schedule.

The outlook is far brighter for the offense, who might well have gotten Carolina over the line had the late fourth-and-one call been better executed. They were able to move the chains early on and in Robby Anderson, they have a dynamic deep threat who can be a real difference-maker going forward.

It was never going to be easy for the Panthers this season given their current predicament. There is something to work with on the roster. But putting it all together at the same time is going to be key.