Unfortunately, the Panthers fell short of making it to the playoffs. But, since I last posted, the turnaround in their season was tremendous. For the first time in three years, I liked how the Panthers played, and this was partly due to the amount of time they won in the latter half of the year. Steve Wilks as an interim head coach won more games in a non-full season then Matt Rhule did in any of his years coaching. The Panthers improved in their last three seasons from a 5-win team to a 7-win team, of which 6 are done under Wilks. They did this by beating some formidable opponents, including the playoff bound Buccaneers and Seahawks. The one game that would have sent them to the playoffs was the Buccaneers game in Week 17. And some unfortunate things had happened that made them lose that game.

First off, the Panthers were in position by around Week 14 to control their own destiny to the playoffs. Basically, if they had won the rest of their games, they would win the NFC South and go to the playoffs. The lynchpin of these games was the Buccaneers game. It boiled down to the winner of that game winning the division. The Panthers had racked up some wins prior to that, including wins against the Falcons, Lions, and Seahawks, and they just needed to beat the Buccaneers to take first place in the division. And this was after the Panthers were at the bottom of the division a few weeks ago. The Panthers playing style made them win against tough opponents, but there were some issues that were significant.

The Panthers playing style changed massively since last year. Their offensive line had greatly improved and their new first round pick, Ikem Ekwonu was proving to be a fabulous pick. Due to this, they could run the ball better, and the quarterback could have more time to throw. Although Rhule didn’t use this fact, Wilks greatly expanded the run game. Because of that, the passing also improved, because most defenses were then focused on the run game, because it was so prevalent. Wilks, who is defensive coach, also improved on the already stellar defense. Some players did underperform, but the stars on the defenses rose to meet the challenge. Jaycee Horn had a phenomenal year after breaking his ankle the previous year (and he is probably one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the league), and Brian Burns improved on his sack count from the previous year. Frankie Luvu and Derrick Brown also improved on the front line. 

Since we are talking about the players, I’ll finish with the positives of the group. The new punter that the Panthers got, Johnny Hekker, was a great addition to special teams and he pinned a lot of teams within their own 20, which was a massive boost to the already great defense. Eddy Piñeiro was another great addition after Zane Gonzalez had a season-ending injury. Aside from the first game against the Falcons, Piñeiro was very accurate and made game-winning goals in clutch situations. His 94% field goal success rate is first among NFL kickers who started every week. Raheem Blackshear, a rookie, and Shi Smith took over for kick and punt returners as Andre Robertz went to IR, and they performed great, considering they were replacing a veteran player. Looking at the offense, there were some highlights. DJ Moore, although he couldn’t reach 1000 reception yards, played well in the final stretch, and Terrace Marshall Jr. and Laviska Shenault Jr. both played well after a slow start. The running backs also performed well after Wilks was hired, as D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard made for a fantastic running duo. Raheem Blackshear also did well in the last games.

Looking at the mess the offense was, Wilks did a great job organizing it again. This is evident when looking at the quarterback situation. After Cam Newton, the Panthers couldn’t find a stable and reliable quarterback, but even with this setback, Wilks and Ben McAdoo made sure that they would have a serviceable quarterback. PJ Walker and Sam Darnold both excelled under Wilks, and even though Sam Darnold had a rough game against the Saints, it was evident that he improved. The culture had changed when Wilks took over.

Of course, there were some massive changes that came to the offense. The face of the offense, Christian McCaffery was traded, which was a huge blow to me because he was my favorite player. Robbie Anderson was also traded, and Baker Mayfield was cut from the team. PJ Walker and Matt Corral got injured, and at one point, the Panthers were playing their fifth-string quarterback. But the Panthers rose to the occasion, and players like D’Onta Foreman and Terrace Marshall Jr. stepped up to fill in those spots that were missed. Foreman’s running style was beneficial and changed the identity of the offense, and this was after one the best running back was traded. I actually liked watching the Panthers offense because of this. Out of the CMC and Robbie Anderson trade, the Panthers got a lot of draft capital for next season. This gives me hope for next year, and a temporary team to root for in the 49ers. Now that Christian McCaffery is with the 49ers, and the Packers (my second favorite team) didn’t make it to the playoffs, I’m hoping that CMC will get his ring that he deserves. He already did great in the Wild Card game.

Wilks cannot be credited enough for turning around this franchise. He brought hope to the fans, brought back the culture, and brought back the feeling of winning. The Panthers have won NFC Player of Week once for each category after Wilks took over. I am excited to see how the Panthers will take the lessons from this past season, and if the next head coach is Steve Wilks, I can wait to see how he will take the Panthers to the next level.