4 key takeaways from the Panthers loss vs. the Falcons in Week 8

Lack of defensive depth is killing the Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have suffered some big losses on defense in recent weeks. To say they were sorely missed in their Week 8 outing would be the biggest of understatements.

This is the last thing a young and relatively inexperienced team needs. There were real concerns about Carolina’s depth going into the campaign and losing the likes of Kawann Short, Yetur Gross-Matos, Juston Burris, and Rasul Douglas has only heightened this fear.

Outside of a few quality players, the rest are either veterans who aren’t doing enough or individuals who simply haven’t seen a lot of NFL action during their fledgling careers. This is never going to do any team’s chances any favors. But it bears more significance when one considers just where the Panthers are in their vast rebuilding phase.

A lack of conditioning also seemed to play its part late on, which is to be expected of those who haven’t been used prominently through the first half of the campaign. Matt Rhule tried to rotate as much as possible. But the simple fact of the matter is some players currently at his disposal simply aren’t good enough.

Nobody will know this more than Rhule. This might mean either instant changes before the trade deadline or picking up another veteran in free agency. But it promises to be another busy offseason period in 2021 regardless.