4 players the Carolina Panthers must lean on in Week 10 vs. Falcons

After another heartbreaking loss essentially ended the Carolina Panthers season, what players will be key to a pivotal primetime game in Week 10?

That was hard to watch. The Carolina Panthers stumbled out of the gate early on Sunday, giving up a huge touchdown drive on the Cincinnati Bengals’ first possession, and never recovered in any way.

P.J. Walker was abysmal in the first half, which is putting it lightly. The struggling quarterback limped to an astonishing total of nine passing yards on three-for-10  passing while also managing to throw two interceptions and securing a passer rating of 0.0 along the way.

Yes, you read that right,

Now that isn’t to say that this loss is entirely on the quarterback’s shoulders. The Panthers’ defense seemed to take a vacation as what had been a top-10 unit gave up five touchdowns to running back Joe Mixon, four of which came in the second quarter alone.

This team has issues, it always has. The spark that the coaching change provided has also begun to sputter after a promising start.

Any aspirations of a playoff berth have also gone straight out the window with consecutive painful losses. This leaves Carolina better off looking forward to the draft and the possibilities it will hold.

A hard truth to swallow, but a truth nonetheless. The Panthers are not good, and they will not be relevant for a while.

As fans, we just have to be patient and hope that the front office makes the right calls in the coming months to put this team on the right track and not squabble in the doldrums of ineptitude for the next few seasons.

But that’s enough about the past, this article is about the future. This includes a primetime game on Thursday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons.

How will the Panthers turn heartbreak into triumph as they look to even the score against the Falcons? These four players will be the key to a pivotal victory.