4 critical observations from the Panthers shock win vs. Bucs in Week 7

Carolina Panthers have no intention of tanking

Following the trading of Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson within three days of each other, talk of the Carolina Panthers being in tank mode was rife, especially across social media. With the team in need of a franchise quarterback and the likes of C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young available, you’d be forgiven for thinking the organization was keen to secure the No. 1 overall selection based on recent events.

However, one look at the performance on Sunday showed a team that had no interest in tanking and was playing hard for interim head coach Steve Wilks. Shutting down Tom Brady with ease despite him being 45 years old is no mean feat.

Despite the Panthers’ being 2-5 currently, the NFC South is not good. All four teams are under .500 and with Carolina now 2-0 in the division, only a game back from the joint-leading Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, maybe the season isn’t over yet.

We saw post-game scenes from the locker room just how much this win means to the team, and to coach Wilks especially. He’s clearly got them playing hard and based on this performance, it seems the Panthers’ are not entertaining the idea of tanking whatsoever.

Whether the Panthers can generate further momentum remains to be seen. But anyone expecting this group of players led by Wilks to roll over for the remainder of 2022 was left with no doubt about the effort on display in the face of some significant adversity.