The Panthers lost their first game of the season, 26-10, on the road to the Jacksonville Jaguars. By Scott Fowler
Y’all remember the game.
You remember the jump-ball touchdown catch hauled in by David Moore. You remember quarterback Bryce Young getting pummeled at least on three separate occasions and dusting himself off with a smile.
You remember running back Chuba Hubbard breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and stomping into the end zone in overtime — a moment of victory, yes, but also one of redemption after losing a key fumble three weeks prior.
And if you can’t recall last year’s Week 16 overtime 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals — who the Carolina Panthers will face at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. — well, many others can for you.
Moore could, for instance.
“We were starting to build something, and form the team that we wanted to be this year,” Moore said. “It’s in the past. So I don’t try to look too much on it beyond, ‘That was a good turning point for us.’ ...
“Every game is going to be different. And every year is going to be different. But as far as coming in with a confidence: ‘Yeah, we beat this team before.’ I would just look at it and say if we come in and do our job, like we did last year, we can have the same outcome.”
Panthers wide receiver David Moore, left, extends for a catch as Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson defends during the game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, December 22, 2024. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com
The Panthers could use such a confidence-builder right now.
Carolina lost its season-opening contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a way that made the Panthers look unrecognizable from the one that ended 2024 on a tear. Young turned the ball over three times. Pre-snap issues came to the fore. Receivers couldn’t finish plays. The defense gave up 200 yards rushing for the seventh straight game — and all that amounted to a 26-10 loss that felt more lopsided than the final score.
It’s tough to understate how much a win would do for this group. Starting 1-1 is essential in a season in which going 3-1 or 2-2 through its first four games is essential to finding its first winning season since 2017. It would validate the prevailing sentiment heard throughout the locker room after Week 1’s blowout loss — that “we’re better than this” and “this isn’t who we are.”
And it would inspire hope.
Much like the 2024 win did.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, left, congratulates running back Chuba Hubbard, right, on a touchdown run during action against the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, December 22, 2024. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
It’s tough understate, after all, how important such a win was last season in Week 16. It strangely galvanized the city; it made Young a fan darling; it was the springboard to the national discourse about the Panthers all offseason: I know they only won five games. But could this team be special in 2025?
Everyone in the Panthers’ locker room will tell you that each team is vastly different from last year’s iteration. But even so, many will tell you they could glean something from last year’s win regardless:
Fun.
Members of the Carolina Panthers swarm running back Chuba Hubbard following his game winning touchdown run in overtime to defeat the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The Panthers defeated the Cardinals in overtime 36-30 JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
“I think you have to be week-to-week in this league because if you think too much in the past, you ignore stuff in the future,” tight end Tommy Tremble said. “But any time that thought pops into my mind about that past game, it’s an awesome memory. We had fun. It was a fun, OT win.”
Tremble is best friends with running back Chuba Hubbard, which made the game more sweet, he said.
“I think it’s one of my favorite games we played in,” Tremble said. “So it would be awesome to go out there and not have to make it OT this time.”
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is congratulated by fans following his game winning rushing touchdown in overtime to defeat the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The Panthers defeated the Cardinals in overtime 36-30. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
From a strictly football side of things: Reflecting on last year’s Arizona game might actually be productive ahead of this week. Cardinal safety Budda Baker is still wreaking havoc and remains the proverbial straw that stirs the drink. Their defensive front-seven might be anchored by new pieces — six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Calais Campbell, for instance, and EDGE rusher Josh Sweat — but their scheme, designed by head coach Jonathan Gannon, is similar to the one in 2024.
Head coach Dave Canales said as much on Wednesday, adding that “it’s good to have the carry-over, good that we have a late-season game against them to be able to look at” — to see “how we were trying to attack them and how they were trying to attack us.”
“With that being said, they still do a lot of different things,” Canales said. “I respect the heck out of this group and coach Gannon. And the way that they present their defense.”
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young scrambles out of the pocket during action against the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, December 22, 2024. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
There’s symmetry from last year to this year, too. The Panthers’ momentous win over the Cards last year came right after the team’s letdown loss against the Dallas Cowboys at home — one that came thanks to a four-turnover game by Young, too.
Still, toss this theory around the locker room — about how that Week 16 contest influences this upcoming Week 2 one — and most will be polite but disagree.
“Honestly no,” said Ekwonu, who didn’t show his hand on whether he’d be able to play Sunday, as he’s still “day to day” coming off an appendectomy. “It’s a new year, new season, new team. They definitely got some great additions to that defense. So we’re treating it like a new team, treating it like this is the 2025 Arizona Cardinals versus the 2025 Carolina Panthers. And that comes with some unique challenges.”
Young’s response was eerily similar.
“For us, it’s a new year, new season, new team,” Young said. “We’re going in there and just doing whatever it takes to win.”
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, right, is congratulated by head coach Dave Canales, center and quarterback Andy Dalton, left, following Young’s rushing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The Panthers defeated the Cardinals 36-30 in overtime. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Rookie Lathan Ransom hadn’t heard the vets talk much about last year’s win. Instead, he heard something else.
“We’re just focused on getting that first win,” Ransom said, referencing 2025.
That’s where the focus should be, of course. A win would do wonders for this team’s confidence, its legitimacy, its possibilities for a better future.
Much like the one in 2024 did.