It's not entirely unusual for young NFL teams to be inconsistent from week to week. That said, these Carolina Panthers are in a league of their own in this dynamic—and it's not a new phenomenon, either.
Last season, the Panthers stunned both the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams, proving that they could hang with the best competition the NFC has to offer. They also lost to the 3-14 Arizona Cardinals, twice to the 6-11 New Orleans Saints and just barely beat the 7-10 Miami Dolphins.
This year, it seems that style has carried over. After hanging with the Chicago Bears for three quarters, they ultimately fell in a shootout. Then, they destroyed the Atlanta Falcons, but proceeded to lose to the Cleveland Browns—which is not a good look according
to Pete Prisco at CBS Sports.
At 1-2, they have to be happy they are in a bad division. Losing to the Browns on the road is not a good look, and the injuries are piling up.
The Panthers were bested on both sides of the trenches in this past Sunday's 21-18 defeat. Quarterback Bryce Young may have been the biggest victim of Carolina's underwhelming push, getting sacked three times and facing the highest pressure rate of any passer this season.
While it's great that the Panthers play up to their opponents—at some point, they have to stop playing down to their competition, as well. How to achieve that is over our pay grade, but it's something head coach Dave Canales has to figure out if the Panthers are ever going to graduate to true contender status.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: NFL analyst: Losing to Browns 'not a good look' for Panthers
