It’s officially that time of the week: NFL power rankings. The Carolina Panthers (5-12) lost their seventh game in a row on Sunday to close out the season, this time to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sam Darnold looked better than usual in throwing a pair of touchdowns, but it wasn’t nearly enough
Now the franchise enters an offseason chock full of important decisions, particularly around the quarterback and offensive line positions. Heck, the entire offense if we’re being honest with ourselves. The Panthers will also need to find a new offensive coordinator after Joe Brady was dumped earlier this season. It looks like they’ve already begun that process, and decided to fire a trio of assistants.
Aggregating several rankings, the Panthers come out to an average of No. 27 (last week: No. 27) in the 32-team NFL.
Let’s check out what outlets around the league are saying about the Panthers after Week 18:
NFL.com: No. 30 (was 30)
If the Panthers hoped Sam Darnold’s return to the lineup would pump some end-of-season optimism into the building, well, we’re not there yet. Darnold was under constant siege from a stout New Orleans front that piled up seven sacks and had no problem passing through Carolina’s turnstyle offensive line. Darnold started the game with nine consecutive completions, but he faded with the rest of the Panthers attack, culminating with an ugly game-sealing pick in the final minute of an 18-10 loss. Carolina needs a total upheaval of its offensive line before it makes any final judgement on the quarterback playing behind it.
NBC Sports: No. 27 (was 27) No update.
CBS Sports: No. 26 (was 26)
The offense was horrible this season, which led to the firing of Joe Brady. They need a new quarterback. That could be Deshaun Watson.
ESPN: No. 27 (was 27) No update.
ESPN NFL Power Index 2021: No. 26 (was 25)
Sporting News: No. 27 (was 27) No update.
Pro Football Network: No. 27 (was 27)
If Matt Rhule survives this ordeal to see a third season in Carolina, it’ll be because he’s built a reputation as a three-year program builder and not for what he’s done as an NFL head coach. The entire 2021 season was grossly mismanaged.
Opting to trade for Sam Darnold was the first mistake. Then, he fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady in the middle of the season. In Week 18, with Cam Newton on the sideline and 1 yard to gain, Rhule allowed Darnold to run the QB sneak instead of the 260-pound freak of nature.
If things go poorly in Carolina next season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Rhule be the first NFL head coach fired in 2022.
Yahoo! Sports: No. 28 (was 28) No update.
New York Post: No. 27 (was 27)
Sports Illustrated No. 27 (was 27)
Points in poll: 33
Highest-place vote: 27 (4 votes)
Lowest-place vote: 29 (1 vote)
Season result: Fourth place in NFC South
Matt Rhule will enter the third season of his seven-year deal on the hot seat. Perhaps this was a bigger project than we realized at the time, but the results will have to show on the field at some point soon.
DraftKings: No. 27 (was 27) No update.
DraftKings has moved from subjective assessments to using spread differential. Point differential is a helpful tool for figuring out the best and worst teams. However, point spread can offer a little more context to how good or bad teams might be. The top of the rankings includes most of the really good teams and the bottom includes most of the really bad teams.
Czikk’s view: No. 28 (was 28)
Mercifully, this will be the final Power Rankings of the season. At this point my full attention now turns towards the offseason as the Panthers take hold of the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Will they go quarterback, offensive line or even something else? NFL.com seems to think they may go cornerback, which I found surprising, particularly after they invested in Jaycee Horn last draft.
And while I don’t want to pour salt in the wound, I think there is a good chance this gets worse sooner than it gets better. However, we’re going to find out this offseason what kinds of moves the team makes.
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