Panthers relatively unscathed in Week 6 national NFL power rankings

The Carolina Panthers emerged from their Week 5 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles relatively unscathed in the national NFL power rankings.

Although the manner of their loss against the Philadelphia Eagles left a sour taste in the mouth, the Carolina Panthers still have a winning record ahead of another home game in Week 6. The Minnesota Vikings will be a tough proposition for Matt Rhule’s men to overcome, but returning to winning ways could shift the momentum into a positive direction once again.

So much needs to be cleaned up from an offensive standpoint. The Panthers struggled to get anything going in the second half despite the defense causing multiple turnovers, something that cannot continue if they want to earn themselves a shock postseason place in 2021.

There’s been a real air of pessimism within the team’s fanbase on social media this week. Not unexpected when the same problems keep emerging over and over again.

It’s costing the Panthers in a big way.

And the fact it’s nothing new is perhaps the most concerning thing of all.

Ahead of this weekend’s clash versus the Vikings, we took a look at where the Panthers currently stand in the national NFL power rankings.

Carolina Panthers in the national power rankings ahead of Week 6.

We begin with FanSided’s national NFL reporter Matt Verderame, who kept the Panthers at No. 16 in his weekly rankings and highlighted the must-win nature of Sunday’s game at Bank of America Stadium when discussing the team.

"“Have to win this week against the Vikings. Can’t let the snowball get out of hand.”"

This was a sentiment echoed by NFL.com‘s listing, which saw Carolina remain unchanged at No. 14 as they discussed the importance of Christian McCaffrey to the team and quarterback Sam Darnold, in particular.

"“Such is the importance of McCaffrey, a driving force in both the running and passing games. He seems especially essential to Darnold, whose turnover-prone ways have returned without his safety valve sliding out of the backfield.”"

The guys over at ESPN ranked the Panthers at No. 12 – also unchanged – with CBS Sports dropping Carolina three places to No. 15.

Despite their second loss of the campaign, The Bleacher Report moved Carolina up one position to No. 12. Things looked even more promising in Sports Illustrated‘s list, with the Panthers rising three places to No. 11.

"“I bought all the way in and got burned—Carolina cracked the last couple of weeks against the Eagles and Cowboys, and the offense really looks like it misses Christian McCaffrey.”"

Rounding off our weekly round-up is Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who slotted the Panthers in at No. 13 – a loss of one spot – stating that their hot start “feels like a long time ago”.

He’s not wrong.

It’s time to see what the Panthers are all about. Minnesota has an abundance of talent on both sides of the football that cannot be overlooked, so it’s going to take a monumental effort from players and coaches alike to halt this mini-slump.

Only time will tell as to whether this can be accomplished.