5 most overhyped Carolina Panthers from the 2021 season

Matt Rhule – Carolina Panthers HC

It was another five-win season for the Carolina Panthers in head coach Matt Rhule‘s first season at the helm. But considering the young talent at their disposal and a new quarterback coming with a big arm, there was a sense of anticipation about what this team could accomplish in 2022.

Expectations that the Panthers could potentially become a playoff contender grew larger after they won their first three games, even if their victory at the Houston Texans cost them the services of Jaycee Horn and Christian McCaffrey.

Looking back, these hopes were delusions of grandeur. Something that papered over the clear cracks when it came to personnel decisions and in-game adjustments that remains a stain on the Rhule era so far.

Losing 12 of their final 14 games was nothing short of a disaster. Rhule is now under increasing pressure to turn things around and although team owner David Tepper seems to have given him a reprieve, the former Baylor man might be on a very short leash.

Firing Joe Brady and replacing him with Ben McAdoo is a career-altering move one way or another. If Rhule’s miscalculated this one, then his head might roll as a result.

All the hype and expectation surrounding the Panthers before 2021 has now evaporated. Judging by what we’ve seen from Rhule so far, he might not be able to turn things around.