Panthers will play Packers in primetime on Saturday in Week 15

Carolina Panthers’ Week 15 meeting with the Green Bay Packers flexed to Saturday night.

The Carolina Panthers’ upcoming schedule has had a primetime contest thrown into the mix.

Announced on Tuesday on NFL Network, the league has flexed two Week 15 games into Saturday slots, among those is the Panthers’ trip to visit the Green Bay Packers (7-3) that weekend. The two NFC foes will now kickoff at 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 19.

That change in schedule gives the Panthers (4-7) a second primetime game this season. Their first occurred against the Atlanta Flacons on Oct. 29. The Falcons won that outing, 25-17.

In addition to Panthers-Packers, the Bills-Broncos matchup in Week 15 was also flexed to a 4:30 p.m. start prior to Carolina’s outing. Both games will be aired on NFL Network.

[lawrence-related id=631163,631158,631154,631143]

Vote: How many games will the Panthers win in 2020?

How many games do you think they’ll win?

Even the most devoted Carolina Panthers fans should be realistic about what to expect during the 2020 season. After the most successful run in franchise history during the Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly and Ron Rivera era, they’re on the cusp of a rebuilding period.

Since December, practically all of the team’s important cornerstones have been removed for one reason or another. Rivera was fired, Newton was released, Kuechly retired and most of the other defensive starters signed with other teams in free agency.

There are reasons to be hopeful about the team’s future, including having the best running back in the NFL on the roster. However, it would be a huge surprise if the Panthers wind up competing for a playoff spot this year.

We are predicting Carolina will go 6-10 during the regular season, but some analysts believe they’ll finish as low as 3-13.

How many games do you think they’ll win?

[polldaddy poll=10566073]

[lawrence-related id=625316]

[vertical-gallery id=622471]

What are the Panthers’ chances of making the 2020 playoffs?

Unless they tank or suffer a lot of serious injuries, these Panthers will be bad but not Trevor Lawrence bad.

Fairweather Panthers fans will be tested this season. After finishing 5-11 last year and then seeing so many important players either retire, sign elsewhere in free agency or get cut, the 2020 season looks as daunting as any in recent memory for this franchise.

What are their chances of making the playoffs this year? Not great.

ESPN ran 20,000 simulations for this upcoming season using their Football Power Index (FPI) prediction model. Things look good for the Chiefs, who have a 21% chance of repeating as Super Bowl champions according to their projections.

As for Carolina, the simulations had them winning an average of just 5.6 games and making the playoffs just 7% of the time. The only teams with worse odds were Washington (6%) and Jacksonville (4%). Finishing with the third-worst record in the league would be hard to swallow. It would also not low enough to land them the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft and a chance to pick a new franchise quarterback.

Unless they tank or suffer a lot of serious injuries, these Panthers will be bad but not Trevor Lawrence bad.

[lawrence-related id=623145]

[vertical-gallery id=623067]

16 storylines to follow for the 2020 Panthers season

Here are 16 we will be following this year, one for each game.

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

Kawann Short — Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Pages: 12345678910111213141516

Ravens among Panthers’ 2020 preseason opponents

Here’s a look at the team’s preseason opponents for 2020.

The Carolina Panthers released their complete 2020 regular season schedule last night. They also revealed their opponents for the preseason.

There are a few familiar faces on this year’s preseason schedule. As usual, they’ll be facing the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This year, there’s also a curveball. In the third week of the preseason they’ll take on the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s a look at the team’s preseason opponents for 2020.

Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Aug. 13-17, time TBD)

Week 2: at New England Patriots (Aug. 20-24, time TBD)

Week 3: at Baltimore Ravens (Aug. 30, 8:00 p.m. ET)

Week 4: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Sep. 3, time TBD)

Baltimore is the big draw here. Week 3 of the preseason is the “dress rehearsal” game, which usually sees teams play their starters for at least the entire first half. This could be a good early measuring stick game for the Panthers.

If anybody is going to have a shot at dethroning the Kansas City Chiefs, it will likely be Baltimore. They went 14-2 last season and this year they have the easiest strength of schedule based on 2019 win totals. The Ravens will also travel fewer miles than any NFL team this year.

The x-factor is league MVP Lamar Jackson, who has made a meteoric rise to become one of the game’s best quarterbacks. He has not performed that well in his two career playoff appearances, though.

[lawrence-related id=622294]

[vertical-gallery id=622299]

2020 Panthers schedule: Only 1 primetime game for Carolina

This year, the Carolina Panthers will only be playing in one primetime game.

At last, the NFL has released the full schedule for the 2020 regular season. This year, the Carolina Panthers will only be playing in one primetime game. That will come Week 8, when they take on the division rival Atlanta Falcons in a Thursday Night Football matchup.

Things kick off with a home game Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Later on, the Panthers have some tough matchups, including a December road trip to Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers (possibly a Saturday game) and another last-game-of-the-year tilt against the division champion New Orleans Saints. Here is a look at the team’s complete regular season schedule week by week.

Week 1: vs. Las Vegas Raiders – Sep. 13, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 2: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sep. 20, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 3: at Los Angeles Chargers – Sep. 27, 4:05 p.m. ET

Week 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals – Oct. 4, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons – Oct. 11, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears – Oct. 18, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 7: at New Orleans Saints – Oct. 25, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 8: vs. Atlanta Falcons – Oct. 29, 8:20 p.m. ET

Week 9: at Kansas City Chiefs – Nov. 8, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 10: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Nov. 15, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 11: vs. Detroit Lions – Nov. 22, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 12: at Minnesota Vikings – Nov. 29, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 13: Bye Week

Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos – Dec. 13, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 15: at Green Bay Packers – Dec. 19/20, TBD

Week 16: at Washington Redskins – Dec. 27, 1:00 p.m. ET

Week 17: vs. New Orleans Saints – Jan. 3, 1:00 p.m. ET

[lawrence-related id=622302]

[vertical-gallery id=622185]

Report: Panthers to visit Packers at Lambeau Field for Week 15 matchup

This is the second year in a row Carolina is visiting Lambeau Field.

The full Carolina Panthers schedule for the 2020 season won’t be released until later tonight. As usual, we have a few leaks ahead of the official release, though.

According to the Athletic, Carolina will start the season at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. We also know that the Panthers will be visiting the Green Bay Packers in a Week 15 matchup, per Joe Person.

This is the second year in a row Carolina is visiting Lambeau Field. Last November it didn’t end well. Backup QB Kyle Allen put in a gutsy performance and the Panthers made it interesting but in the end they fell just short, losing 24-16. Star running back Christian McCaffrey was stopped at the goal line in the closing moments.

Green Bay went on to win 13 games last season. In the playoffs, the Packers made it all the way to the NFC Championship game, but there they got crushed by the San Francisco 49ers.

While their starting QB Aaron Rodgers isn’t the world-beater he once was, he’s still extraordinarily talented and has always been difficult to beat at home.

On the bright side, the Packers have been mostly criticized for their decisions in the 2020 NFL draft, particularly trading up for Jordan Love. They didn’t pick up any new weapons for Rodgers or address any other immediate areas of need.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have revamped their defense and brought in some more talent at wide receiver. It’s possible the gap has closed some since the last time these teams played.

[lawrence-related id=622309]

[vertical-gallery id=622226]

Report: Panthers to open 2020 season at home vs. Raiders

The Carolina Panthers will open the 2020 NFL season at home against the Las Vegas Raiders, according to the Athletic.

There were rumors that Carolina would begin the year on the road against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, but it seems that’s not the case. This matchup is likely to be much more competitive.

Las Vegas is not a heavyweight like Kansas City. The Raiders went 7-9 last season, including just 2-6 on the road. Along the way, they got crushed in road games by the Green Bay Packers (42-14), the New York Jets (34-3) and the division-rival Chiefs (40-9).

The Panthers had their own issues last season of course as they finished 5-11. However, this should be a relatively winnable game.

One key will be how well Carolina’s young defensive backs matchup against Vegas’ receivers like first-round pick Henry Ruggs III.

This is mostly a run-first opponent, though. The Raiders have a mean and massive offensive line and one of the league’s top-10 running backs in Josh Jacobs. As a rookie, he totaled 1,150 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Vegas also passed on just 55.81% of their plays. Only seven teams threw less often.

This could be a problem for Carolina, considering that the Panthers fielded the worst run defense in the league in 2019. Obviously, the personnel has changed a lot since then but the changes should be mostly positive in this respect. While we’re not crazy about the pick, if nothing else Derrick Brown should help turn around this element of the game. The team is also getting Kawann Short back and they are switching to a 4-3 defensive scheme, which should also help stop the run.

Defensively, the Raiders were nothing special. They allowed 26.2 points per game last year and they ranked No. 31 in DVOA. They did add a couple of strong cornerback prospects in the draft though – picking up Damon Arnette in the first round and Amik Robertson in the fourth. It will be interesting to see how new offensive coordinator Joe Brady, starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and a speedy wide receiver corps perform against them.

[lawrence-related id=622233]

[vertical-gallery id=622185]

Panthers’ latest loss sets opponents for 2020 season

The Carolina Panthers look like the worst team in football right now.

The Carolina Panthers look like the worst team in football right now. Losers of seven straight games and eight of nine, Sunday’s humiliating failure against the Indianapolis Colts dropped them to last place in the NFC South. Because the third-place Atlanta Falcons hold the tie-breaker, that means Carolina is stuck in that spot and will finish the season in the division cellar.

Embarrassing as it is, there is a silver lining. Because they finished in fourth place, they’ll be facing some last place teams in 2020. The opponents for next season are now set. Here is a look at who they will be playing next year.

Home

Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Away

Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Washington Redskins
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

At a glance, it seems like they’re catching the easier opponents at home and the real contenders on the road. How well they do at Kansas City, Green Bay, etc. will depend a great deal on who they hire as head coach and how much faith he has in Cam Newton as a QB1.

[lawrence-related id=616026]

[vertical-gallery id=616060]