Buccaneers: Full season predictions for NFC South
By James Yarcho
Carolina Panthers
September 10 – @ San Francisco 49ers – W 27-10
September 17 – vs. Buffalo Bills – W 21-17
September 24 – vs New Orleans Saints – L 30-24
October 1 – @ New England Patriots – L 34-21
October 8 – @ Detroit Lions – L 28-27
October 12 (Thursday Night Football) – vs. Philadelphia Eagles – W 33-21
October 22 – @ Chicago Bears – W 35-10
October 29 – @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – L 24-17
November 5 – vs. Atlanta Falcons – L 27-14
November 13 (Monday Night Football) – vs. Miami Dolphins – W 20-13
November 26 – @ New York Jets – W 31-17
December 3 – @ New Orleans Saints – L 27-24 OT
December 10 – vs. Minnesota Vikings – L 26-21
December 17 – vs. Green Bay Packers – L 34-28
December 24 – vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – W 21-17
December 31 – @ Atlanta Falcons – L 24-10
Final Record – 7-9
The Panthers brought in Christian McCaffrey to help in both the run and the passing game, but they don’t have the defense to keep up with most of the teams they face. Despite having one of the best linebacker duos in all of football, Luke Kuechly is one concussion away from retirement.
Cam Newton had an abysmal season and is coming off shoulder surgery. With no real weapons in the passing game outside Greg Olsen, Kelvin Benjamin has to live up to expectations in order to get he Panthers into the thick of the division race. Unfortunately, not many people have the confidence he can do so.
There just truly isn’t much about the Panthers to be worried about. Unless 2015 Cam Newton magically reappears, it looks like Carolina will be the least competitive of the NFC South teams.