Welcome back to the NFC South power rankings, where the entire conference is coming off a down week.
Three out of four teams lost, and the fourth only won because it was an inter-conference game. Even then, it was against the worst team and went to overtime, not great by any means.
The playoffs are five games away, and the race for the conference title is still wide open thanks to no team being able to pull ahead in the standings. Even the Carolina Panthers, who could be picking No. 1 overall in 2025, are only three games out of winning the division.
While Carolina and the New Orleans Saints are unlikely to compete for the title despite being statistically alive, it offers both teams an excellent opportunity to play spoiler to the Atlanta Falcons or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This week, we’ll be ranking the teams based on their performance compared to the rest of the conference and analyzing if the team has accomplished their preseason expectations.
Let’s dive right in.
NFC South power rankings, Week 14: Where do the Carolina Panthers stand?
4. Carolina Panthers (3-9)
Have they met their preseason expectations? Yes
Win more games than last year? Check. Get something out of their former No. 1 overall pick? Check. See if their first-year head coach has what it takes to lead a team and call an effective game plan. Check.
The Carolina Panthers haven’t gotten many wins this year, and their schedule does not hold the opportunity for many more. But after a disastrous first two weeks to the season, the team on the field has looked much improved compared to their 2023 counterparts.
Teams and the fans associated with them are not typically going to celebrate losses. Even so, the Panthers being able to take three or four plays from their recent games and identify them as the catalysts of their defeat is much better than their earlier losses.
Also bolstering the team’s spirits is the play of second-year quarterback Bryce Young. He has not only been a capable starter since his return from being benched after week two but has quietly been one of the NFL’s better signal-callers during that stretch.
Since returning from his benching, Young has completed 60.4 percent of his passes and thrown for six touchdowns compared to three interceptions — though none occurred in the last three games and one of those three picks was due to Xavier Legette getting the ball ripped out of his hands. He has done this despite his top three targets being rookies until Adam Thielen returned from injured reserve last week.
The only thing remaining for the Panthers to play for is draft positioning. If they continue making games competitive while rising up the board, they’re going to be in pretty good shape for the 2025 offseason.