5 biggest takeaways from the Panthers' 2025 schedule release

USA Today

16-05-2025

5 biggest takeaways from the Panthers' 2025 schedule release
Other than wideout Xavier Legette's groundbreaking reveal behind the true origins of his beloved accent, Wednesday night's schedule release provided a number of important takeaways for the Carolina Panthers.
The slate itself, although considered amongst the easiest in terms of competition, is pretty complex. Journeys through the rigorous NFL season are more than about just the "who," they're also about there "where" and "when," something this team may realize early on.
And while the lineup that they'll face isn't one of the most murderous murderers' row you'll see, the Panthers do have to deal with a few heavy hitters.
Buy Carolina Panthers tickets for 2025
So, let's break the most pertinent points of the itinerary down.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from Carolina's full 2025 schedule:
On the road again . . . and again
Three of the Panthers' first four regular-season games will come on the road. Their away adventures kick off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, then shift over to the west coast for the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 and—following a pit stop back home to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3—lock them up with the New England Patriots up north in Week 4.
Yes, this will be a challenge for a developing team, especially in beginning the new campaign. But at least this busy start doesn't include any of the league's top contenders.
None of these first three away opponents made the playoffs in 2024. Heck, the Panthers even knocked one of them, the Cardinals, out of postseason contention last year.
If they take one outing at a time, then the Panthers could come out of this four-game stretch with multiple wins.
A pair of big swings
Carolina will face their first real juggernaut, at least based off of last season's hierarchy, in Week 8—when the Buffalo Bills visit Bank of America Stadium. They'll also welcome in another serious challenger, the Los Angeles Rams, a month later in Week 13.
These two contests will give the Panthers a pair of opportunities to do what they were so close to accomplishing in 2024—and that's shaking the NFL to its core.
In Week 12, the Panthers took the Kansas City Chiefs to the brink, as the then-two-time defending champs needed a last-second field goal to pull out a 30-27 win. And if not for a devastating drop from Legette two weeks later, they probably would have knocked off the eventual champs—the Philadelphia Eagles—on the road.
So the Bills and/or the Rams, two of this year's Super Bowl favorites, may catch these paws if they're not careful.
Welcome back to prime time
After being left off the prime-time slate for 2024, the Panthers landed themselves a Monday night matchup with the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12. And as stated by head coach Dave Canales on Thursday, this will be their chance to not only introduce themselves to the nation—but introduce themselves to, well, themselves.
"I just love the opportunities to be able to play those types of games," Canales told reporters. "There's a couple of extra cameras. You get to play under the lights against a great opponent. And those are the types of games that we need to become who we are.
"And the challenge is to go on the road, go across the country and really feel the high-stakes games as we build this and we compete to win the division. The hope is that we are working ourselves into that mentality of, 'This is another game.' We go about our preparation and our work the same way, so we can just go out there and play our best."
This'll be a doozy too—as the Panthers are set to face running back Christian McCaffrey for the first time since trading him back in 2022.
Late R&R
The Panthers have drawn the daunted Week 14 bye, the very latest break a team can get. That, of course, will test this squad's ability to stay both healthy and resilient.
Unfortunately, that was quite an issue for Carolina in 2024. Injuries to key players including Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown and linebacker Shaq Thompson exposed the alarming lack of depth on the roster—helping result in, perhaps, the worst defense this league has even seen.
This offseason was very much about raising the floor—as evidenced by their defensive-minded blitz in free agency. So we'll see how far up that floor is now.
New kings of the South?
Even the most optimistic of Panthers fans will tell you that a division title in 2025 isn't the most likely of outcomes for this team. But given the setup of the final three weeks of their schedule, they could be in a prime position to pounce.
To get to the throne, Carolina will probably have to jump the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—winners of the NFC South in each of the last four seasons. They'll be facing the Bucs at home in Week 16, then on the road in Week 18.
If the Panthers are in range at the start of that last stretch, just like they were in 2022, then they could determine their own destiny.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.