On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers carried the league’s longest active losing streak into MetLife Stadium. And unfortunately, they also carried it out.
For the ninth straight time, dating back to Week 11 of the 2021 campaign, the Panthers chalked up a loss. This time, it was the New York Giants who delivered the defeat—sending Carolina to an 0-2 start to the season with a 19-16 triumph.
Buy Panthers TicketsBut, despite yet another tough pill to swallow, head coach Matt Rhule had a message of encouragement following the contest. In opening his postgame presser, Rhule said his guys are close—even if the result has stayed the same.
“I just wanna make sure I say that we’re close,” he said of the Panthers’ ability (or inability) to finish. “I believe that with all my heart. I think we’re so close. We’re comin’ down the stretch. But we haven’t found a way to get it done. And that’s my job to get over that last hump. It’s the hardest part.”
The Panthers and Giants were at a stalemate for the majority of the second half—remaining knotted at 13, then 16 apiece throughout the third and fourth quarters. New York, however, was the team who came away with the big score—a 56-yard field goal by kicker Graham Gano—and a big stop to clinch the outing.
Regardless, Rhule still believes—even in an early hole—that there’s still time to improve and bounce back into contention.
“At the end of the day, we’re 0-2. We haven’t played an NFC South game yet. I just want them to stay locked in. But I really believe they’re close,” Rhule said. “I hurt for them. At the same time, we have a lot of football left. And I think we have to get better. We have to get better in terms of a lot of things.”
Surely, there is a lot of football left for the Panthers. But how much of that Panthers football will be left for Rhule?
