Panthers finish last again: What we learned from the 2024 season

Here's what the 2024 season taught us.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) in the huddle with teammates against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers finished last again in the NFC South. The trajectory many wanted and expected after finishing 2-15 and in last place again last year. A new coach, a better offseason, and the expected development of Bryce Young led to some hope that the Panthers would be a little better than this.

That's not exactly how it turned out, although that conversation requires a lot of nuance. The 2024 Panthers are not just a slight, three-win improvement over the 2023 dumpster fire. They're much better than that, and here's what they taught us in 2024. As of Sunday afternoon, the season is officially over.

What the Panthers' season taught us

One thing we learned from the Panthers this year is that growth is not linear. Bryce Young is the perfect example of that. He had a dismal rookie season, but he had a career outing against Green Bay down the stretch before crumbling in the final few games. The expectation is that a player's second year is much better.

That wasn't the case at first. Young was so bad he warranted a five-game stint on the bench, and his career looked over. But that development and growth was so far from linear for Young. He now looks like a player worthy of the number one overall pick, and the future of this team.

Coaching matters. That's another thing 2024 taught us. Frank Reich was an utter disaster, even allegedly refusing to implement RPOs into his playbook to help his rookie quarterback. Everything he touched turned to garbage, not gold.

Jan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) celebrates with tight end Tommy Tremble (82) after a touchdown run against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Enter Dave Canales. Canales has been shaky at times, and his management of Young has been interesting at times. That shouldn't detract from the fact that he's a major upgrade over Reich and he has this fan base hopeful for the future. Canales has things to improve on, but he looks like a Coach of the Year candidate in the making.

Another thing we had to learn the hard way is that defense is so important. With an average defense, this team probably doesn't finish last in the NFC South. Injuries played a role (losing Derrick Brown and Shaq Thompson particularly stung), but this was a horrible unit in Week 1 when they were fully healthy.

A secondary lesson is that Dan Morgan had better be scouting defenders in college and in the free-agent market because the 2024 Panthers' defense was horrible. Sometimes, it's easy to think a capable offense is enough to outscore other teams and win. That happened sometimes for the Panthers, but the games they won mostly involved an inspired and unexpected outing from the defense (Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, and Atlanta wins are good examples).

We also learned to take the wins when they come. The Panthers would've been better served to lose the close games they won (Arizona, New Orleans, New York). It would've given them a better draft pick, but the fanbase is starved for enjoyment, and they're still in a very strong spot overall.

The 2024 season also taught everyone how much things can change on a dime. Going into Week 9, the Panthers had no hope. The future was bleak at best, and it looked like it would be years until they competed again (ignoring the fact that it's already been years). After Week 18, the record isn't good, but the outlook is so much better.

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