The thick of the NFL offseason is in the rearview mirror for the Carolina Panthers with the NFL Draft just wrapping up. Free agency is over in terms of it being a frenzy with several players left to find homes still. Carolina is now focused on rounding out their roster heading into OTAs and before training camp is here in July.
One of the critical offseason dates to talk about is the NFL schedule release date. It is a day we all get together and predict how teams will do for that given season. Carolina already knows who they will play in 2024, but they’ll soon know what order that’ll happen.
Let's take a look at everything there is to know about the 2024 schedule for Carolina.
Panthers' 2024 schedule release date
The NFL teased during the draft that schedules will be released in May, although it didn't give us an exact date. Based off the last couple of years, however, it should come out around the middle of May, as it was released on May 12 in 2022 and May 11 in 2023.
Once that comes out, we will update this with the Panthers' exact schedule.
Panthers home and away opponents
Games played at home: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals
Games played on the road: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears
Predicting primetime matchups
With Carolina being one of the worst football teams during the 2023 season, so figuring out what games will be primetime matchups should be angled toward which team the Panthers will be playing.
With that being the case, the Panthers' matchup with the Cowboys looks like a perfect game for a primetime matchup. Dallas is America's team and anyone who plays the Cowboys enjoys the added media attention of that week.
Another primetime matchup would be the Panthers' game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Predicting Week 1 and Week 18 matchups
Carolina will most likely play a divisional opponent in Week 1 and Week 18. I could see the NFL handing the Panthers the New Orleans Saints to bookend the 2024 season.
Strength of Schedule (based off Vegas win totals, not 2023 record)
Instead of ranking strength of schedule by last year's records, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis bases his rankings on Vegas' projected win totals for the upcoming season.
This methodology allows for a more accurate projection of how good teams are expected to be for the season. At the time of this publication, Sharp hasn't updated it to reflect Vegas' updated, post-draft totals. Regardless, he has the Panthers' SOS as 10th.
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