Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! I recently broke down the whirlwind of a 2025 season for the Carolina Panthers defense, and while there were certainly bumps and bruises along the way, it seems Dan Morgan and his front office have laid a solid groundwork to continue building a quality unit. Sure, the pieces they’ve assembled have played vastly above the sum of their parts on paper, but what’s become clear in the last 13 weeks of football is simple; there is a plan and vision in place for this group. So, we broke down what they’ve done so far, but where do they go from here?
The Panthers somehow find themselves “in the hunt” when people/pundits talk about the NFC playoff picture. While the offense’s high points have much to do with this current situation, the defense’s consistency as a bend-but-don’t-break unit that is excelling within Ejiro Evero’s scheme has mostly been the bedrock for this team even being in these conversations. Sure, not every game was pretty, but the Panthers defense consistently kept games within striking distance for a Panthers win, sometimes even putting the team over the top with timely turnovers and key stops limiting chances for the opponent to otherwise flip the game script from neutral to very negative.
So, looking at the remaining schedule, these 7-6 Panthers face the Saints, the Buccaneers, the Seahawks, and the Bucs again to close out the season. 3 of those 4 offenses on paper pose many problems for this defense, while the last time the team faced the Saints, big plays by their offense swung the game. So I would argue that the defense is in for a big challenge every week going forward. Ejiro Evero’s schemes and play calling will need to be top notch, and the personnel will have to reduce their mistakes and big plays. The name of the game is going to be simple, maintain the same identity that has made this defense successful in their wins. Ejiro Evero’s whole game plan seems to revolve around forcing the opposing offense to work for every yard, by reducing big plays and forcing errors by the offense, whether it be by the quarterback, pass protection, or the ball carrier. The Evero philosophy follows a zone heavy coverage scheme, however he mixes it up consistently, blitzes in unpredictable ways, and thrives on making tackles/plays to limit yardage. That’s how this defense wins, which means they’ll need to lock down guys like Chris Olave, Mike Evans, Emeka Ebuka, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. These games are going to challenge this Panthers secondary, a unit that seems to have caught fire in the last several weeks.
And by that same token, they’ll be facing 3 teams who will want to run the football against them. The Saints will always hand the ball off to Alvin Kamara, the Bucs finally have Bucky Irving returning from injuries that kept him out most of the season, and the Seahawks consistently keep both of their...
