Carolina Panthers Not Scheduled For Primetime | Who Do You Blame ?

Carolina Panthers 2024 schedule: No prime-time dates for Dave Canales in Year 1
NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 10: Bryce Young #9 of the Carolina Panthers scrambles out of the pocket during an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on
Who were the biggest winners and losers of the NFL schedule release? Jeff Howe has you covered.

The Carolina Panthers had two prime-time games last season. Apparently the network executives saw enough.

After the Panthers finished an NFL-worst 2-15 in 2023, Bryce Young’s second season is filled with 1 p.m., 4:05 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. start times — save for the breakfast-hour kickoff in Week 10 when the Panthers face the Giants in Munich, Germany. Carolina is the only team without a prime-time kickoff. It’s the third time the Panthers have not had a prime-time game — 2002 (after going 1-15 in George Seifert’s final season) and 2011 (after going 2-14 in John Fox’s final season).

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Carolina’s first game in Germany and the franchise’s maiden trip to Las Vegas are among the notables for first-year coach Dave Canales’ squad, which faces a tough four-week stretch in late November/early December and closes with back-to-back road games at Tampa Bay (Canales’ former team) and Atlanta.

Panthers 2024 schedule

Week 1 keys to victory
In two losses to the Saints last year, New Orleans sacked Bryce Young eight times and forced him to fumble in each game. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has to keep edge rushers Cam Jordan and Carl Granderson at bay. If the Saints get to Young early and create chaos, a well-lubricated Superdome crowd will be wild.

Must-watch game: vs. Kansas City, Week 12
There’s a reason the NFL didn’t schedule this game in Munich. Or more to the point: There’s a reason the Panthers didn’t want to play the Chiefs in Germany. Having the two-time, defending Super Bowl champions in town doesn’t happen very often, and it should be a great atmosphere at Bank of America Stadium. The Chiefs haven’t played in Charlotte since 2016, when Patrick Mahomes was in his final year at Texas Tech and Cam Newton was coming off his MVP season. Devin Funchess, now playing pro basketball in Colombia, caught a touchdown that day. But the Chiefs won 20-17 behind four field goals by Cairo Santos and an Eric Berry pick 6.

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Toughest stretch: Weeks 12-15
The Panthers’ bye falls after their Week 10 game in Munich. Good thing because they’re going to need to be rested and ready for the four-game stretch that follows. Beginning with the Nov. 24 home game against the back-to-back, Super Bowl-champion Chiefs, the Panthers play four consecutive games against 2023 playoff teams. The good news: Three of the four games are in Charlotte, although Dallas fans will make the Week 15 game feel like a road game for the Panthers.

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Game that has gotten tougher: vs. Chargers, Week 2
When last we saw the Chargers, they were in full implosion — firing coach Brandon Staley and GM Tom Telesco a day after a 63-21 loss to Las Vegas and finishing the season on a five-game losing streak while quarterback Justin Herbert was sidelined with a broken finger. Enter Jim Harbaugh, who led Michigan to the national championship and then bolted for the Bolts, who many view as a sleeping giant with one of the league’s premier QBs leading the offense. The Chargers signed ex-Ravens RB Gus Edwards, drafted Georgia WR Ladd McConkey and Michigan LB Junior Colson (naturally), and picked up a pile of Panthers castoffs (Bradley Bozeman, Hayden Hurst, DJ Chark and Denzel Perryman, a few years removed).

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One game the Panthers can’t afford to lose: at Bears, Week 5
Picking the low point from the Panthers’ 2023 season is like voting on the worst Nickelback song. But the 16-13, Thursday night defeat at Chicago is in the running. The team led by the No. 1 pick Young at quarterback managed 12 first downs and did not score an offensive touchdown in losing to a Bears team with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent at quarterback. Barring injury, Bagent won’t be starting this one. That honor will go to Caleb Williams, whom the Bears drafted first overall with the pick they received from the Panthers in the trade for last year’s No. 1. If Young and the Panthers lay e playmakers than he did last year. We’ll see if it makes a difference.