4 promising signs from the Panthers’ win at Washington

Promising signs from the Carolina Panthers’ win at Washington.

Some sections of the fanbase may not like it, but the Carolina Panthers picked up their fifth win of the season at the Washington Football Team in Week 16. Their 2021 NFL Draft position plummeted as a result, but building a winning culture with a young group of players is probably more important than a top prospect who may or may not work out at this point.

This is something that head coach Matt Rhule has been keen to impose in recent weeks. Generating some positive momentum before the campaign concludes should serve the Carolina Panthers well ahead of another crucial offseason period next year and there is definitely a solid foundation from which to build moving forward.

Of course, it would have been nice to be in a position to select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

But anyone who thought a roster this talented was going to end up with the NFL’s worst record was kidding themselves.

Let’s take a look at four promising signs from Carolina’s well-deserved triumph against their former head coach Ron Rivera at FedEx Field.

Promising Sign No. 1

Improved discipline

One of the most frustrating elements of Carolina’s play in recent weeks has been their lack of discipline. They have given away far too many penalties for anybody’s liking, but this was much improved during their morale-boosting victory at Washington.

The Panthers conceded just three penalties for a loss of 35 yards. Most of these came late in the contest and Rhule will be hoping that this is a trend that continues long into the future.

Having problems in this area was always going to be evident with young personnel in key positions. Hopefully, they will take these experiences and learn plenty from them ahead of the 2021 campaign.