The Carolina Panthers released their schedule for the 2020 NFL season on Thursday night. As always, there are a ton of interesting stories.
Here are 16 we will be following this year, one for each game.
Week 1 vs. Raiders: Trench warfare
The Panthers begin the 2020 season at home against the Raiders. While Derek Carr and Josh Jacobs get a lot of the attention, Las Vegas wins games by dominating at the line of scrimmage. Specifically, they have a powerful offensive line with only one weak spot – left tackle Kolton Miller. The rest of their starters are big, strong and very capable at what they do. That will put Carolina’s new-look defensive line to the test. Rookies Derrick Brown and Yetur-Gross Matos should start along with Brian Burns and Kawann Short, who missed 14 games due to a shoulder injury last year. Besting this Raiders OL would be an unexpected victory and a great sign of things to come for this unit.
Week 2 at Bucs: The debut of Tompa Bay
In case you haven’t heard, the Buccaneers got themselves an ugprade at quarterback. Jameis Winston is now backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans and he’s been replaced by Tom Brady, who will make his home debut in Tampa this game. While he’s declined physically, Brady is still a top-10 QB and makes far fewer mistakes than Winston. He also will have a plethora of talented skill players to work with. No quarterback in the league has a better group of tight ends (Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard) and Brady also has the best one-two punch at wide receiver in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Containing Brady’s weapons will be a serious challenge for a young defense.
Week 3 at Chargers: Speed vs. Speed
Carolina only has one west coast road trip this year when they visit the Chargers Week 3. The most interesting matchup in this game will come between the Panthers wideouts and LA’s defensive backs. D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel and Robby Anderson represent a strong threesome at receiver. However, the Chargers have an athletic and skilled secondary, led by swiss-army knife safety Derwin James. They’re also deep at corner with Casey Hayward and Chris Harris Jr, who they added in free agency. The speed of Carolina’s receivers matched against the speed of the Chargers’ secondary should make for compelling television.
Week 4 vs. Cards: Kyler Murray’s rising star
The Panthers beat the Cards Week 3 in Arizona last year in their most convincing win of the season. A lot has changed since then, though. The biggest one for the Cardinals is the ascension of Kyler Murray. Each of the last two years we’ve seen young quarterbacks take explosive steps forward and cement themselves among the game’s elites. In 2018, it was Patrick Mahomes. Last year, it was Lamar Jackson. Both of them went on to win MVP. We don’t expect Murray to win MVP, but he should be in the running for most improved. The trade for DeAndre Hopkins will make a huge difference and help take advantage of Murray’s exceptional touch on deep passes. Whoever has to cover Hopkins is likely in for a long day.
Week 5 at Falcons: Atlanta’s total domination
This division rivalry has become one-sided in recent years. Heading into the 2020 season, the Falcons have won five games in a row against the Panthers. It’s even worse than it sounds, too. If not for a rare drop in the end zone by Julio Jones in the November 2017 matchup, Atlanta’s win streak against Carolina would likely be at nine games. At this point, a victory on the road against the Falcons would be considered a huge upset. Keeping it close and avoiding a blowout is a more realistic goal.
Week 6 vs. Bears: Contain Khalil Mack
The Panthers will face a lot of talented pass rushers this season. The toughest of them will arrive Week 6, when Khalil Mack and the Bears visit town. Last season, Mack managed to post 8.5 sacks despite frequently getting double and triple teamed. In his career, he has totaled 61.5 sacks and 116 quarterback hit. Containing Mack has to be priority No. 1 for Carolina’s new offensive line coach Pat Meyer in this game. Chicago will move Mack around the line of scrimmage, so both starting tackles Taylor Moton and Russell Okung will likely need help.
Week 7 at Saints: Joe Brady vs. Sean Payton
Carolina’s new offensive coordinator is the 30-year old Joe Brady, who spent last year at LSU helping Joe Burrow win the Heisman. Prior to that, Brady was an assistant on the Saints’ staff. He’s a bit of a front-runner, but Sean Payton is one of the most brilliant offensive play-callers in the NFL. This game should highlight just how much Brady learned from Payton as well as the differences in their style and philosophies. New Orleans has won six of the last seven matchups between these teams, so Brady has a tall order trying to outscore his old mentor.
Week 8 vs. Falcons: Teddy under the lights
The Panthers will only play one prime time game this year and this is it. This won’t be an easy task given how Atlanta has dominated Carolina lately. For what it’s worth, Teddy Bridgewater has a strong record under the lights. Even though his individual numbers have been weak, Bridgewater has gone 6-2 in late games in his career. Leading his new team to a Thursday night win at home against a division rival would go a long way towards endearing Carolina fans to Bridgewater, who has a tough act to follow.
Week 9 at Chiefs: Good luck with that
The toughest game on the schedule for the Panthers this year will come Week 9 when they visit the Chiefs. Last season, Kansas City proved impervious to double-digit leads during their playoff run. Led by the league’s best quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, they have the most potent passing game in the sport right now. Winning on the road is not going to happen, but if Carolina’s defense can limit Andy Reid’s ridiculous, loaded offense to less than 35 points it should be considered a moral victory.
Week 10 vs. Bucs: Gross-Matos vs. Wirfs
In addition to picking up Tom Brady, the Buccaneers also scored a very strong draft class. In the first round, they selected one of this year’s blue-chip offensive tackles in Tristan Wirfs. He played right tackle during his time at Iowa and that’s where he should line up for Tampa. That will likely give him an interesting one-on-one matchup with Carolina’s second-round pick, Yetur Gross-Matos, who plays best at strong-side defensive end. Hopefully by this point in the season he’ll have some more moves.
Week 11 vs. Lions: Cornerbacks under fire
More than a decade after coming into the league, Matthew Stafford still has tremendous arm talent and remains about as good at throwing the long ball as anybody not named Mahomes. Last season, Detroit’s top two wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. combined for 127 catches, 1,969 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. Carolina’s outside corners Donte Jackson and Troy Pride Jr. will have their hands full trying to keep those two in front of them.
Week 12 at Vikings: The run WILL be established
Despite adding a bright, innovative offensive coordinator and more speed at wide receiver, we’re still expecting a run-first Panthers team. They just gave Christian McCaffrey a four-year contract extension that makes him the highest-paid running back in the NFL. That means he will still be the foundation of their offense, even if he doesn’t approach 400+ touches like last year. On the other side, the Vikings also prefer to establish the run. Dalvin Cook had a breakout year in 2019, posting 13 touchdowns and finishing seventh in yards from scrimmage despite missing two games.
Week 14 vs. Broncos: Target: Drew Lock
When Denver comes to visit Week 14 it will be an ideal opportunity for Carolina’s edge rushers to shine. The Broncos have a strong interior offensive line with Dalton Risner, Lloyd Cushenberry and Graham Glasgow. Their tackles are more vulnerable, though. If Brian Burns and Yetur-Gross Matos can win outside against Garrett Bolles and Ja’Waun James it should go a long way towards a victory. Like many inexperienced quarterbacks, Drew Lock struggles against pressure. Making him uncomfortable in the pocket could be a key to a win.
Week 15 at Packers: A rematch in the cold
Last November, Carolina visited the Packers at Lambeau Field in a game that could have gone down as a classic. Even though they were heavily outmatched against a team that went on to win 13 games, the Panthers held their own made it interesting down the stretch. If Christian McCaffrey had not been stopped at the goal line late, the game might have gone into overtime. This year, the Panthers are going to Green Bay again, this time late in December. Expect more cold, more snow and another brutal test against a conference heavyweight.
Week 16 vs. Redskins: Stop Adrian Peterson
This will be the third straight year that Carolina plays Washington. In 2018, Adrian Peterson ran wild against the Panthers, averaging 5.71 yards per carry in a six-point win. Last year, Carolina had even more trouble stopping the Reedskins rushing attack. Peterson and Derrius Guice combined for 228 yards and three touchdowns. Stopping the run will be crucial for the Panthers if they’re going to avoid a third-straight loss to an inferior team.
Week 17 vs. Saints: How far to go?
Once again, the Panthers finish out the regular season against the Saints. By this time we expect them to be out of the playoff race and looking to build towards 2021. Winning this matchup isn’t that important. However, what matters is how much Matt Rhule has improved this team over the course of the season. This game offers another measuring stick to see just how much work the Panthers have to do before they’ll be considered contenders again. If Rhule can make significant progress in pass protection and defense, the 2020 season should be considered a success no matter what the standings say.
