Fans of the Carolina Panthers are holding a surprising amount of hope for a team they mostly think is heading in the wrong direction. That’s what this week’s Panthers Reacts survey has told us, at least. An 0-2 start after an offseason of building hope is always going to generate some emotional whiplash in the people that watch these games looking for fun and entertainment, but Panthers fans are notably impatient due to the past seven years of disappointment that we have endured.
Losing to the New
England Patriots this weekend in the Panthers home opener would drop the team to 0-3 and all but guarantee an eighth consecutive losing season. Fans, who have never seen even two consecutive winning seasons in the franchise’s 30 years, are understandably down on the entire team right now.
There is room for these numbers to drop as some fans are still clearly hoping for a 2024-esque rally. There are, in their defense, a few things to pin their hopes on. Bryce Young’s performance on the field has been a mixed bag at best to start, but still superior to his 2025 start. The Panthers defense looked shockingly better than last season against the Arizona Cardinals last week.
Nobody is expecting a huge turnaround for the team. But also, I think it’s notable that not everyone bottomed out their prediction from the preseason. I think folks are just hoping for Young, what remains of his offensive line, his receivers, and the defense to pull together a complete game a few times this season. I think at this point we’re just hoping for Sundays to be fun on occasion.
How about you? Jump down in the comments and tell us what you’re hoping for this weekend and this season.