NFL power rankings: Panthers beginning to believe, take another big leap forward

Carolina rises to a new high on the 2024 NFL season in the latest power rankings from The Sporting News.

Tim Weaver | Nov 11, 2024

MUNICH, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 10: Bryce Young of Carolina Panthers reacts during the NFL Munich Game 2024 between New York Giants and Carolina Panthers at Allianz Arena on November 10, 2024 in Munich, Germany. / (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Neither win was pretty, and neither opponent was playing their best ball. That said, the Carolina Panthers have won two games in a row, which is an almost unheard of accomplishment over the last several years for this franchise.

Sunday's 20-17 overtime victory over the New York Giants in Germany won't get them in the playoffs, and it probably won't help much when they face the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks. However, what actually matters is that it was a showcase of development for Carolina's young core. Chuba Hubbard put in a career game fresh off a big payday, Dave Canales bounced back with a good playcalling day, and for the third game in a row we saw genuine signs of progress from Bryce Young.

For an encore, the Panthers also showed signs of life on defense thanks to the arrival of outside linebacker DJ Wonnum. At the very least Jadeveon Clowney seemed inspired and had his best outing since joining the team. Collectively, the pass rush actually made an impact on the game for the first time in 2024, and at least in the first half the Panthers were almost respectable against the run.

That's a whole lot to like, and as is appropriate Carolina has taken a big jump in the latest weekly power rankings from Vinnie Iyer at The Sporting News. He has the Panthers at 24, up five spots from last week and eight spots from two weeks ago.

TSN on ranking Panthers 24th

"The Panthers should be happy they gave Bryce Young another chance and helped him a lot more with the running game. Young is playing with more confidence and should remain the starter for the rest of the season."

That last bit is now obvious to any unbiased observer. Playing Young down the stretch was always the best idea, no matter how well Andy Dalton might have been performing. Dalton's minor car crash and thumb injury opened the door for Young to return, and it became apparent pretty quickly that Young's benching did exactly what the Panthers needed it to.

The rest seems to have rebooted Young's mindset, and he's now playing far more confidently and decisively - even when plays are breaking down Young isn't panicking and he's making the plays he needs to. Young's surge of belief in his game was perhaps most evident on this 24-yard scramble in the third quarter:

Bryce Young's breakthrough run

Bryce Young’s rushing prop was set at 10.5 yards…

He just picked up 24 on this run 💨 💰pic.twitter.com/VOPBtZkEZe
— SportsBettingDime (@SBD) November 10, 2024

Yes, that was actually Bryce Young smiling and taunting the other team. The Bryce Young we saw in Weeks 1-2 was incapable of displaying that type of confidence, both to take off in a closing pocket and to actually show some pride in himself at the end of the run.

To be sure, there are still some miscues and accuracy issues, but the Bryce Young we've seen since he returned to the lineup against Denver is an actual NFL quarterback who looks like he may yet grow into something special. That alone is more than enough for Carolina fans to take a warm, glowing feeling into the bye week.