Panthers Power Rankings Roundup: Tumbling After Week 3 Disappointment

“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.” -Pete Prisco (CBS Sports)

“Last week’s drubbing of Atlanta appeared to be an anomaly by the time Sunday’s game concluded. Carolina’s offense struggled to find success for most of the afternoon in Cleveland, a reality exacerbated by the injury to Jalen Coker. Devin Lloyd’s absence hurt the Panthers’ defense, which wilted in the fourth quarter against a motivated Browns offense. Carolina also struggled to protect Bryce Young, who was banged up and saw his performance suffer because of it. Fortunately, the bye week is near, but not before a Sunday night date with the Lions that could teach us plenty about the current state of the Panthers.” -Nick Shook (NFL.com)

“Amid a three-way tie for first place in the NFC South, with all teams currently resting at 1–2 (a very NFC South sentence), the Panthers are the only team with a positive point differential. This, despite giving up 59 points in the season opener. This has been your Carolina Panthers minute, and now a word from our sponsor.” -Conor Orr (SI)

“Despite a somewhat underwhelming Week 3 performance, Young is averaging 313 passing yards and 2.3 passing touchdowns per game in 2026. That has made him the QB4 in fantasy, behind Josh Allen, Brock Purdy and Tyler Shough. An impressive start considering Young was the QB18 in ADP. Young is up 1.5 yards per passing attempt from 2025 to 2026. While he is not rushing as much as he has in the past, he has one rushing TD on three carries this season.” -Mike Kaye (ESPN)

Panthers Have to Bounce Back in Week 4

So, the Panthers are now in the early-to-mid twenties after that disappointing loss. The good news is that every team in the NFC South either has one or zero wins, so the Panthers are still in good shape.

The team has a perfect opportunity in Week 4. The Panthers get to play the Detroit Lions in Charlotte on Sunday Night Football. It will be a tough test, especially given how banged up the Panthers are, but everybody will forget about Week 3 if the Panthers can pull it off.