The Panthers couldn’t hold onto a late lead against the Rams, so their season came to an end with a 34-31 home loss on Saturday.
While that was a painful way to go out, the mood in the Panthers locker room was not totally dejected. The team finished 2-15 in 2023 and went 5-12 in 2024 before winning the division with an 8-9 record this year.
A losing record isn’t the sign of a total breakout, but head coach Dave Canales said that the season has been about creating the belief that the Panthers “belong in these games” and defensive lineman Derrick Brown said that the experience has led to different expectations for 2026.
“We want the message to be, man, this is the standard now,” Brown said, via the team’s website. “We want to play playoff football here. We want the Bank to be sold out every weekend, and you know we got to give them a show if that’s what we want.”
The growth the Panthers showed in 2025 isn’t guaranteed to continue next season, so the Panthers can’t afford to rest on their laurels once they get back to work on taking the next step up the NFL ladder.
This content was brought to you by: profootballtalk
