The Panthers get a much needed bye week and a chance to make hay in the division during the home stretch.
The Carolina Panthers schedule can be divided into three segments, both because 18 is divisible by three and because there are three distinct segments that each have a common thread running through them. The first segment of the season is the easiest and gives the Panthers a chance at some early momentum. They’ll need it for the middle portion of the schedule, which features a handful of Super Bowl contenders. That bleeds into the home stretch of the season, before a bye week gives the Panthers a break and prepares them for a divisionally heavy close to the season.
The games:
- Week 13: vs Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, November 30th
- Week 14: BYE WEEK
- Week 15: at New Orleans Saints, Sunday, December 14th
- Week 16: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, December 21st
- Week 17: vs Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, December 28th
- Week 18: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, January 8th 2026
I mentioned it in the preview of the middle segment of the season. The Rams game is a sort of continuation of that. They became a very dangerous team late last season and gave the Eagles their toughest fight on their way to a Super Bowl victory. The Panthers then get a conveniently timed bye to gather themselves and (probably) lick their wounds as they get ready for a four week sprint to the finish. Those four weeks features three divisional games.
First up are the Saints, who lost Derek Carr to retirement and thus boast a quarterback room featuring Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler, and rookie Tyler Shough. On paper, they look like they’ll be competing for the first overall pick, but you never know with the NFL. It’s also a game at the Superdome, which isn’t as big a deal as it used to be but still looks a little bit daunting on the schedule.
Then finally, in Week 16, the Panthers get their first crack at the Buccaneers. The Bucs are the kings of the NFC South until proven otherwise. The Panthers have lost five straight to them and got absolutely smoked the last time these two teams met. Carolina gave up points on all but one drive. The defense should be better than last year, but they’ll need to be drastically better to give the team a chance against a team that on paper doesn’t look like they’re taking any steps back offensively barring injury.
The Panthers get a break from the division in Week 17 to face Sam Darnold and the Seahawks on a Saturday. So while it’s not a division opponent, it is a meeting with a familiar face. It’s hard to say what the Seahawks are going to look like next season, which makes it difficult to imagine what this game will look like or what the ramifications will be. The good news is that this game will be at home.
The season ends in a rematch against the Bucs just two weeks after the first meeting.
It’s optimistic to hope or predict that the Panthers are competing for a division title down the stretch, but if they are, the post-bye week schedule will have massive implications. The Bucs are the most likely candidate to take the NFC South crown, but the Panthers have a chance to upend that with their two cracks at them in the final three weeks of the season.