4 reasons the Panthers must avoid complacency after first win of 2022

Carolina Panthers haven’t earned the right

Until the Carolina Panthers produce enough to earn the right to relax, then complacency of any kind shouldn’t be tolerated. Even though their win in Week 3 was a major morale boost, this is still some way off.

The NFL is a week-to-week league and this is a constant evaluation where the Panthers are concerned. It’s been one step forward and two steps back since Matt Rhule took charge, so it remains to be seen whether this was just a flash in the pan or the catalyst behind improved fortunes.

The coaching staff must lead by example, of course. But the onus is also on prominent leaders within the locker room such as Shaq Thompson to keep everyone focused and not too full of themselves after getting one over on their NFC South rivals.

Thompson has been around long enough to know this victory means nothing in the grand scheme of things unless Carolina builds on it. He’s one of the last remaining roster members that went to the Super Bowl in 2015 and is someone everyone is looking to for advice, guidance, and motivation during a critical stretch of fixtures.

Not even teams like the Buffalo Bills or Kansas City Chiefs can guarantee a win on any given Sunday. If this applies to teams fighting to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2022, then it also does to a Panthers franchise whose fortunes are still hanging in the balance.