Dave Canales has spent much of his first season as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers searching for a signature win. And even though it took a little extra time, he may have finally found what he was looking for on Sunday.
The Panthers toughed out the cold and the visiting Arizona Cardinals in Week 16 to nab a 36-30 overtime victory. This past weekend’s triumph snapped a four-game losing streak, one that included three near-upsets of playoff contenders and a sloppy showing against the Dallas Cowboys just last week.
But they bounced back, actually knocking off a playoff hopeful—who are now officially eliminated from postseason contention—by playing their brand of football.
“Panthers football,” Canales said with a smile as he began his post-game presser. “We talked about ‘finish,’ and finding a way to finish, do right longer. And the defense found a way in that overtime to have a couple of balls knocked down, a sack, some big things right there.
“And then the offense, of course, just finishing the way we want to. Being able to run the ball with toughness right there. We’re in a great situation for a field goal and Chuba [Hubbard] ends up breaking a few tackles and scoring there.
“It was a great thing to celebrate with the guys. To reemphasize—playing football right, doing right longer is the way we finish. So was really happy about that.”
That type of happiness wasn’t really present throughout the first eight weeks of the season, where the Panthers had gone 1-7. Canales, in that span, had benched last year’s No. 1 overall pick, was receiving criticism for his lack of commitment to the run game and admitted to his flaws in his play-calling and decision-making process.
Some of those warts even popped up against the Cardinals on Sunday. But Canales has remained steadfast—learning along the way while keeping his players focused on the task at hand.
There is a sense that the team has bought in on Canales and his vision of a successful organization in the not-too-distant future. The effort is not a concern amongst the players and the franchise itself, and the way they’ve played feels like a far cry from the Matt Rhule and Frank Reich days.
Not only are they trying to push to the finish line on a weekly basis, but they’re also competing—and against some of the league’s best. Just ask fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles how they felt after Weeks 12 and 14.
Despite the numerous holes and lack of talent on the roster, Canales has his team in the game nearly every time out. This is an early sign of an effective culture.
In 2011, first-year head coach Ron Rivera led his Panthers team to a 2-8 mark before ripping off wins in four of their final six games. Carolina experienced something similar the very next year—once again beginning at 2-8 and finishing with five wins in six outings to go 7-9.
Then, from 2013 on, the culture was established and the success followed. Rivera and the Panthers would go on to capture three straight NFC South titles—a run capped off by the franchise’s second-ever Super Bowl appearance in 2015.
This is not to say the current coach will follow in the footsteps of the winningest coach in the organization’s history. But all success stories start somewhere—and for Canales, that start might’ve come on Sunday.
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