Carolina Panthers betting outlook: 2026 season hinges on Bryce Young hitting 20.5 touchdowns

When a franchise goes through years of coaching carousels, roster turnover, and growing pains, finding consistency becomes the top priority.

Few teams in the NFL have tested their fan base’s patience over the last few seasons quite like the Carolina Panthers .

But with head coach Dave Canales entering his third season at the helm and quarterback Bryce Young entering a pivotal fourth year, Carolina is aiming to prove that its rebuild is finally over and their playoff appearance from last year was not a fluke.

The Panthers were able to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2017.

The team still had a losing record, but their division was one that no one seemed to want to win.

The team ended up being 8-9 after Carolina lost their last two games.

They lost their first two games of the year, and their last two, and sandwiched a 8-5 record in between.

At their best, they were running the ball effectively, and Bryce Young was looking like a reliable quarterback.

At their worst, the defense couldn’t get stops when needed, and their offense looked disjointed.

The best game they played actually was probably a loss against the Rams in the postseason.

They never quit, but the defense just couldn't get the stop that was needed in order to win.

Making it to the postseason was good, but you need to ride that momentum.

As mentioned, the defense needed to get some stop, and that usually starts with pressure on the quarterback.

To address that need, they signed Jaelan Phillips to the team.