The 2024-25 NFL season got off to the worst start imaginable for the Carolina Panthers, last Sunday. They suffered a brutal 47-10 loss against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This week, they will have their home opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. In order to achieve victory, the Panthers will have to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers. Led by (new head coach) Jim Harbaugh (who used to quarterback for the-then San Diego Chargers), the Chargers were victorious in their opening game, last Sunday. They defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, 22-10, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
There are some areas where the Panthers will need to improve, if they want any chance of defeating the Chargers. A major area is the run game. Last week, the Panthers only ran for 58 yards, while their defense allowed the Saints to run for 180 yards. In comparison, the Chargers ran for 176 yards (with 135 of those yards from [running back] JK Dobbins), while their defense only allowed the Raiders to run for 71 yards. Those numbers have to change, if the Panthers don’t want an 0-2 record to start the season.
Another area where the Panthers will need to improve is turnovers. Last week, they had 5 turnovers, while the Saints only had 1 turnover. In comparison, the Raiders had 4 turnovers, while the Chargers had none. Carolina’s defense needs to set the tone early & do like the team’s motto says…”keep pounding”. Likewise, the offense, especially (quarterback) Bryce Young must protect the football. We saw how quickly the Saints were able to pull away from them, especially after they forced some turnovers from Carolina’s offense. If they turn the ball over against the Chargers, expect another pull away from the Panthers.
Sack pressure is another area where the Panthers will need to improve. Last week, they only got 1 sack, while Young was sacked 4 times. In comparison, the Chargers got 3 sacks, while (quarterback) Justin Herbert was only sacked once. The Panthers must become a completely different team than they were, last week. The defense needs to frequently get to Herbert, while the offense needs to keep Young off of his back. If they are efficient on both sides of the ball, there could be a chance for a victory.
While those are the factors of the game, there is more to this story. As I mentioned, Harbaugh used to play for the Chargers, but he retired with the Panthers. He has been in Charlotte as a visitor on many occasions, so he will be used to the noise that Panthers fans will be making. At the same time, (Panthers head coach) Dave Canales will be getting a big lesson from Harbaugh, thanks to this game. One thing Canales will have going for him is that he will have the crowd behind him. Can he & his coaching crew make the adjustments needed to keep the crowd behind him? We’ll find out, Sunday afternoon at 1:00 on CBS.