There isn’t a single thing at stake for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday—at least as far as the standings are concerned. But the 2023 regular-season finale will present them with quite an opportunity.
Here are the top storylines for Week 18’s showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Ending on a good note
There couldn’t have been many, if any Panthers fans that were expecting Bryce Young to have a Cam Newton-esque rookie campaign, despite the similar excitement and energy surrounding their selections. But even fewer fans were probably expecting their newest No. 1 overall pick to have something closer to a Jimmy Clausen-esque year.
Well, that’s kinda where we’re at.
Entering the 16th and final outing of his first NFL season, Young has passed for just 2,783 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Amongst all quarterbacks with at least 10 games played, he ranks 26th in passing yards per game (185.5), 29th in yards per attempt (5.5) and 29th in passer rating (73.7).
Now, we can attribute Young’s extremely disappointing 2023 to a number of unfortunate factors. Along with the regular rookie growing pains, the kid’s had two different head coaches, two different play-callers, five different starting left guards, six different starting right guards and just one reliable pass catcher.
(Oh, and he’s also been sacked 59 times—just two off the league lead and the second-most all-time for a rookie quarterback.)
So, can Bryce end with a strong step forward into 2024?
Bake is back
If we stick on the topics of quarterbacks and expectations, this quarterback has blown whatever expectations that were had for him clean out of the water.
Last year’s seven-game experiment between the Panthers and Mayfield was probably the most miserable stretch of football in the former No. 1 pick’s career. To the point of his release, he had thrown for a career-low 57.8-percent completion rate with six touchdowns and six interceptions.
So, even after he showed a bit of life during his short stop for the Los Angeles Rams in the final five games of the 2022 season, Mayfield may have lost quite a few believers. Alas, he has risen.
Mayfield is about to close the book on a career campaign. He’s passed for bests in completion percentage (64.4), yards (3,907) and touchdowns (28).
There aren’t any snazzy commemorative t-shirts or even an ounce of bad blood for this “revenge game.” But knowing Baker, his return to Bank of America Stadium should be an intriguing one.
Up for grabs
They may have been the first team in the NFL to be eliminated from postseason contention, but the Panthers could still help decide the fate of their division on Sunday.
The 8-8 Buccaneers enter the finale atop the NFC South. They currently hold the intra-divisional tiebreaker over the 8-8 New Orleans Saints and a one-game lead over the 7-9 Atlanta Falcons.
No matter what happens in New Orleans—whether it be a Saints win, a Falcons win or even a tie—a Panthers win would wipe out the hopes of a third straight division crown for the Bucs.
As if playing God wasn’t enough for the 2-14 Panthers, interim head coach Chris Tabor told reporters why Week 18 is so important to them.
“I think people, when there’s change that’s gonna take place, people are gonna come in—and as I’ve always stated and I’ve stated it to the players—they’re gonna look at: How did you play those last games when the adversity was at its highest?” he said on Friday. And I always say, that says a lot about a player . . . and a coach. So, we got a lot at stake on this game.”
Luckily for Tabor and his guys, there’s one more afternoon left to chop some wood.
