Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers are in the playoffs. Say that out loud sometime today so that you can hear it in your own voice. It’s been long enough that you might need a minute to really hear it. At 8-9 the Panthers are going to be this year’s “least likely to” in every category in every game in the post season. For teams like the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Philadelphia Eagles, being in the playoffs comes with expectations of success. They have to win a game or two, maybe even the Super Bowl, to keep their fans happy. For the Panthers, it really is just an honor to be here.
The Panthers haven’t been in the playoffs since the 2017 season. They have neither won their division nor a playoff game since 2015. There are as many differences as you can think of between this team and either of those teams, but the only thing they have in common is the only thing that matters: they all made the playoffs. Go ahead and say it again if you’re struggling with the concept. It’s OK if you’re rusty rooting for your own team in January.
Over the past several weeks, fans have been split into two camps. One has been hopeful to see a playoff game and didn’t care how the Panthers slipped into the playoffs. The other was worried that the Panthers wouldn’t deserve the chance if they didn’t earn it with a declarative victory. Any one over the Saints, Seahawks, or Bucs in Weeks 15, 17, or 18 would have done. Unfortunately for that second camp, the 7-6 Panthers went 1-3 after their bye in Week 14 and very much slid into the playoffs through a back door tie-breaker in a sad, hapless division.
Over the past many years the Panthers have endured Kyle Allen, P.J. Walker, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield being coached by Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule, and Frank Reich. Fans have had to make do with seven win seasons as a highlight, where the playoffs were out of reach by midseason and the future was as uncertain as the quarterback position.
The 2025 Panthers shouldn’t be different.
They have more warts than you can count, somehow making it all the way to wild-card weekend without a simple, resounding answer on Bryce Young that every fans agrees on. The version of the Panthers that was confident and riding a winning streak into the playoffs never materialized. This is not a team that should be expected to succeed. Their first opponent knows that and also knows they cannot underestimate them. The Los Angeles Rams are first up and, having already lost to these Panthers this season, are probably hungry for revenge.
To the divisional round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs if they can beat the Rams a second time this season. None of that history of bad...
