Panthers Schedule Quarterly Breakdown: Second Quarter

With the 2024 NFL schedule officially released in full on Wednesday night, we now have a clearer picture of the road the Panthers will have to take in the first season of the D&D (Dan and Dave) Era. Will the season end up being a natural 20 or a critical fail? Let’s take a look at the matchups during the second quarter of the season.

Week 5: Panthers at Bears, October 6th, 1:00pm, FOX

Well, well, well. Look who it is. It’s the team that could have been the Panthers had they not jumped up in the 2023 NFL Draft for Bryce Young. Time will tell which team made the better choice, but this will be a great opportunity for Young to show his worth against the combined might of Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, OT Darnell Wright (Panthers pick), CB Tyrique Stevenson (used Panthers pick to trade up), and Keenan Allen (traded for using a Panthers pick). While I don’t necessarily believe the comparison is apples to apples (for a multitude of reasons), the comparison will be made for the rest of their careers. Think of Williams and Texans QB CJ Stroud as Young’s rivals. They will always be compared to each other, regardless of who performs the best out of the group. DraftKings currently has the Bears projected win total at 8.5 games.

Week 6: Panthers vs Falcons, October 13th, 4:25pm, FOX

The Panthers second divisional matchup comes in Week 6 against Atlanta. The Falcons decided to do the opposite of what the Giants and Raiders did: they opted to get two quarterbacks even though only one of them will be on the field at a time. Conventional wisdom is that Kirk Cousins will start, assuming he’s healthy, while Michael Penix will be the backup. But it is the Falcons, so who knows. Regardless of which one actually takes snaps, the offense should be dramatically improved from last season due to the upgrade at quarterback. DraftKings currently has the Falcons projected win total at 9.5 games.

Week 7: Panthers at Commanders, October 20th, 4:05pm, CBS

Just two weeks after facing off against the number one overall pick in Caleb Williams, the Panthers will visit the number two overall pick in Jayden Daniels. The Commanders also drafted a few CSR draft crushes in Johnny Newton and Mike Sainristil. Washington also has a new staff to go with their new quarterback, tagging Dan Quinn to lead the team. An interesting wrinkle to this game is the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury as the offensive coordinator. We’ll see how he decides to use the mobile Daniels. DraftKings currently has the Commanders projected win total at 7.5 games.

Week 8: Panthers at Broncos, October 27th, 4:25pm, CBS

If Penix does happen to start against the Panthers in Week 6, this game against the Broncos in Week 8 would be Carolina’s fourth straight game against a rookie quarterback. Old nemesis Sean Payton took Bo Nix (after finally finishing his 17-year collegiate career) with his first pick. The Broncos had a bit of a disappointing season in 2023, and Payton pushed all the blame on Russell Wilson. Now that Payton has “his guy” under center, it will be interesting to see if/how the offense improves. DraftKings currently has the Broncos projected win total at 5.5 games.

Summary

This might be the easiest stretch in the Panthers schedule this season with three very winnable games against rookie quarterbacks and a divisional game (which are always hard fought). DraftKings has the Panthers as the underdogs in every single game they play this season, but this is definitely the part of the schedule many bettors will be tempted to put a little bit of money down.