Jaycee Horn's blunt message hints Panthers' moral victories are already tiresome

There is no such thing as moral victories in the NFL. The Carolina Panthers have come as close as it gets over the last fortnight, but it's amounted to nothing more than two losses in the column.

A spirited effort versus the Kansas City Chiefs left reasons for encouragement. Sunday's defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime was caused by mistakes in key moments. The performances are improving. Even so, this is a results business when it's all said and done.

Considering how woeful the Panthers have been for years, fans cling on to every glimmer of hope. Things look more positive now than arguably at any stage of David Tepper's ownership. Until this group of players and coaches find a way to come through and turn these close contests into victories, they'll continue to languish among the league's bottom feeders.

Jaycee Horn isn't interested in Carolina Panthers' moral victories

This was a sentiment echoed by stud cornerback Jaycee Horn. He was pretty blunt when discussing the Panthers' improvements. While the former first-round selection acknowledged progress was being made, there's an obvious frustration about failing to get over the hump.

"As a competitor, it's still tough because you just think about those two games back to back decided by field goals. What if we'd made that one play last week? What if we'd made that one play yesterday [Sunday]? We'd be having a totally different conversation. We know that we're progressing upwards as a team. At the same time, you win or you lose. So it's still tough to take those heartbreaking losses back to back weeks. Like I said, we know we're getting better. I can't speak for everybody else, I just think about the what if. We know we've got a lot of ball left. Mathematically we're not eliminated yet, so we're still going to go out there and fight and let the chips fall where they may."

- Jaycee Horn

Horn is a competitive guy. He's experienced nothing but losing since being drafted No. 8 overall by the Panthers in 2021. One could forgive him for not seeing the positives in Carolina's poor record.

Setting higher standards and finding ways to excel in the most clutch moments is the next challenge for this group. They are slowly removing the laughingstock tag through improved front office decisions and Tepper staying in the background. This was always going to be a gradual process on the team's route to respectability and future contention. Having the right perspective is key.

At the same time, Horn and his teammates are growing increasingly frustrated. Gaining plaudits for good performances without the positive results to show for it is already becoming tiresome. Finding a way to get over the line whether they're playing well or not separates the good teams from the also-rans. It's something the Panthers haven't done nearly well enough in recent years.

The tide is slowly turning. Carolina wasn't going to go from perennial failure to demolishing everyone in the blink of an eye. Horn's desperate for this team to start climbing the ladder. That is not going to happen overnight.

Winning is all that matters. It's been a foreign concept to the Panthers lately, but Horn's mindset lent further weight to the claims that this downtrodden organization isn't too far away.

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