Following a second-straight losing campaign, Matt Rhule enters his third season as Carolina Panthers head coach, firmly on the hot seat. Rhule will hitch his wagon to Carolina’s new starting quarterback Baker Mayfield, who the Panthers recently acquired from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.
Carolina currently has NFL odds of +400 to make the playoffs.
Mayfield will be surrounded by a talented group of skill players, featuring running back Christian McCaffrey and wideouts D.J. Moore and Robbie Anderson.
Baker Mayfield has a chance to earn back the $3.5M in salary he gave up as part of the trade to Carolina through a variety of incentives. They breakdown as follows: pic.twitter.com/EBDuSYKO7h
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 19, 2022
While McCaffrey is the engine that makes the Panthers’ offense go, his ability to stay healthy remains in question after appearing in just 10 games the past two seasons. However, should the former Stanford Cardinal avoid the injury bug, Carolina could perform better than expected, as evidenced by its 4-3 mark last year with McCaffrey in the lineup, compared to 1-9 without him.
However, the offense and the defense will need to rise to the occasion with Carolina, coupled with the league’s 12th most difficult schedule.
Here’s what lies ahead for the Panthers in 2022.
Week 1 vs. Cleveland Browns
Date: Sunday, Sept. 11
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Baker Mayfield doesn’t have to wait long to face his former team in one of Week 1’s most highly anticipated matchups. But will the man who replaced him in Cleveland, Deshaun Watson, be under center?
Week 2 @ New York Giants
Date: Sunday, Sept. 18
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Carolina suffered an embarrassing 25-3 road loss to the Giants last season. More stable quarterback play will hopefully prevent history from repeating itself.
Week 3 vs. New Orleans Saints
Date: Sunday, Sept. 25
Time: 1:00 PM ET
These two NFC South rivals split the season series in 2021, with Carolina downing the Saints 26-7 at home in Week 2.
Week 4 vs. Arizona Cardinals
Date: Sunday, Oct. 2
Time: 4:05 PM ET
The first of four straight games against teams that qualified for last year’s postseason.
Carolina is 3-0 against the Cards since Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury arrived in the desert in 2019, including an impressive 34-10 victory last season.
Arizona will be without star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, suspended for the first six games due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
Week 5 vs. San Francisco 49ers
Date: Sunday, Oct. 9
Time: 4:05 PM ET
The Panthers’ defense gets their first look at 49ers sophomore quarterback Trey Lance, who is expected to be handed the reigns to Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Week 6 @ Los Angeles Rams
Date: Sunday, Oct. 23
Time: 4:05 PM ET
Matt Rhule and Co. travel to SoFi Stadium to battle the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers’ secondary will have its hands full trying to slow down Rams WR Cooper Kupp following his historic triple crown campaign.
Week 7 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date: Sunday, Oct. 23
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Carolina has lost the past four meetings, being outscored 150-63 over that stretch.
Week 8 @ Atlanta Falcons
Date: Sunday, Oct. 30
Time: 1:00 PM ET
A loss against here against the rebuilding Falcons could spell the end of Matt Rhule’s tenure in Carolina.
Week 9 @ Cincinnati Bengals
Date: Sunday, Nov. 6
Time: 1:00 PM ET
The Panthers have yet to face star quarterback Joe Burrow since he was drafted by the Bengals first overall in 2020.
Week 10 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Date: Thursday, Nov. 10
Time: 8:15 PM ET
It’s a short week for the Panthers in this lone primetime appearance of the season. Both club’s coaching staffs will be under pressure to make the necessary adjustments from Week 8’s meeting.
Week 11 @ Baltimore Ravens
Date: Sunday, Nov. 20
Time: 1:00 PM ET
This game will be the first matchup between the two sides since Lamar Jackson’s rookie season in 2018. Carolina downed Baltimore 36-21 that season with Jackson playing behind then Ravens starter Joe Flacco.
Week 12 vs. Denver Broncos
Date: Sunday, Nov. 27
Time: 1:00 PM ET
The Panthers are no stranger to new Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, going 1-6 lifetime against the former Seahawks great.
Week 13 BYE
Week 14 @ Seattle Seahawks
Date: Sunday, Dec. 11
Time: 4:25 PM ET
Carolina returns from its much-needed bye with a must-win game against a Seahawks team projected to be one of the worst in the NFL.
The Panthers have lost the past three meetings.
Week 15 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Date: Sunday, Dec. 18
Time: 1:00 PM ET
The Panthers host the Steelers and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, a player Carolina passed on in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Week 16 vs. Detroit Lions
Date: Saturday, Dec. 24
Time: 1:00 PM
A meaningful game this late in the season is likely all that is on Matt Rhule’s Christmas wish list.
Week 17 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date: Sunday, Jan. 1
Time: 1:00 PM ET
It would be shocking if the Bucs did not have the NFC South division well in hand at this point of the season, but the Panthers would like nothing better than to affect Tampa Bay’s playoff seeding or potentially take a step closer to claiming a Wild Card berth.
Week 18 @ New Orleans Saints
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
A return match where a sweep by either team could carry playoff implications in what is expected to be a crowded NFC Wild Card battle.
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