Jan 10, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales on the field in the second quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

NFL insider rips Panthers' chances of returning to playoffs in 2026

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Russell Baxter | Last updated Jan 14, 2026 2:00 PM ET

There are eight teams still in the running when it comes to making plans to reach Super Bowl LX. There are also six clubs that are looking towards 2006 after being eliminated last Saturday (Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers), Sunday (Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers) and Monday (Pittsburgh Steelers).

Zachary Perles of CBS Sports ranked the aforementioned half-dozen teams in terms of returning to the postseason next season. At the very bottom of his list were Dave Canales’s Panthers.

“The Panthers had an honorable showing in their first playoff trip in nearly a decade,” said Perles, “leading the Los Angeles Rams late before ultimately coming up short. There are some cornerstones in place on both offense (Tetairoa McMillan) and defense (Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn).”

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

McMillan totaled team highs in catches (70), receiving yards (1,014), and touchdown grabs (7). Meanwhile, Brown led the Panthers with a career-best five sacks and finished fourth on the club with 73 tackles. Finally, Horn was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl after leading the team with a personal-high five interceptions—equaling the number of picks he amassed in his first four NFL seasons.

Nonetheless, this is a franchise that has posted eight consecutive losing campaigns dating back to 2018, and hasn’t won a playoff contest since the 2015 NFC title game.

“Still, there are far too many questions to pencil the Panthers any higher than this,” added Perles. “Carolina went 8-9. Its minus-69 point differential was the fourth-worst by any playoff team. Bryce Young was in the bottom half of most major statistical categories. Give him credit for coming up big in several clutch situations, but there is still a long way to go on both sides of the ball.”

That there is, as evidenced by the up-and-down nature of their season. The Panthers lost their first two games, and dropped their final three contests. In between there were eight wins in their other 13 outings. All told, Carolina must develop some consistency as the team prepares for the third year of the Canales Era.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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