Dave Canales explains Panthers’ prime-time scheduling snub: ‘You gotta earn’ those games

To the victors (from the year before) go the prime-time slots. The Panthers won two games in 2023 and find themselves out of the big national games for 2024.

Carolina, at least on paper, wasn’t an attractive option for the primetime games of Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. There was the constant losing. Plus. the Panthers offense, with No. 1 pick Bryce Young, ranked last in the league. They averaged fewer than 14 points a game.

It’s all why Carolina will be the only team in the NFL without a primetime appearance when the season starts in September.

That’s OK for new coach Dave Canales. A pragmatist understands the reasoning. He addressed reporters’ questions Monday after the Panthers finished their first practice of phase three of OTAS.

“Yeah, you gotta earn it,” Canales said. “You gotta earn prime-time games. Those things just don’t come along. Every year, you don’t start out that way. They don’t just throw you on prime-time games for no reason.

“We have to build a version of football we’re proud of and be able to accentuate the strengths and talents of our guys that we have. And then I think the world will wanna see that at some point. But we got a long way to go and we gotta earn those type of opps [opportunities].”

There are some potentially cool TV moments. The Panthers play the New York Giants in Munich, Germany, in week 10. That’ll be a game on NFL Network. It’s a standalone game, although most potential viewers will be at church, asleep or at an early brunch. There are also five games with 4 p.m. Eastern start times. But the majority of the games are of the 1 p.m. Sunday regional variety. The Panthers can get better or stay stagnant in relative peace.