Panthers’ Playoff Hopes Ride on Bryce Young | NFL News

0:00On September 7th, so, the Carolina Panthers, they actually won the NFC South last season. But here's the thing, even with that title, a lot of folks aren't exactly feeling confident about them heading into this new season. It's not like they dominated their way to the championship, they finish with an 8-win 9-loss record. That's barely above 500, and it took some serious late-game heroics just to get there. ESPN dropped their team rankings, and they've got the Panthers sitting way down at 26th out of 32 teams. They're looking at what needs to go right for Carolina to avoid a step backward. Their projection? A slim 17.3% chance of even sniffing the playoffs. Most of that slim hope hinges on them repeating as division champs, which ESPN gives them a 13.9% shot at. Now, part of the challenge is that winning the division means a tougher schedule this year, ranked as the 13th hardest in the league. ESPN's looking at an average of about 6.7 wins based on that schedule, which would put

1:00them at 6 wins in 11 losses, or maybe 7. And 10. That kind of record usually doesn't cut it for a playoffspot. The whole situation really boils down to one guy, Bryce Young. While things like the cornerbacks being a strength and depth on the offensive and defensive lines being a concern are important, it's young who holds. The keys. If he elevates his game, the Panthers have a shot. If he struggles, it could be a long season. ESPN pointed out that last year, Bryce Young set career highs in completion percentage, passing touchdowns, and yards per dropback leading the team to their first playoff appearance since 2017. The team needs that version of Bryce Young, or even better, to prove the doubters wrong and make some noise in the postseason. This has been NFL News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.