The Carolina Panthers, the last winless team in the NFL, remained that way on Sunday. A 42-21 loss at the high-flying Miami Dolphins was the team’s most lopsided defeat in a year full of them. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receiver Tyreek Hill were their usual destructive selves in the passing game – they combined for 163 yards and a touchdown – and tailback Raheem Mostert added 115 yards and two scores on the ground. This year’s No 1 overall pick, Bryce Young, hung in gamely at quarterback but could not come close to keeping pace. Losing to the Dolphins is no disgrace – Miami have the best offense in the NFL and are 5-1 this season – but it emphasized how far Carolina are from being relevant. Besides, it’s the overall picture of the season that is depressing for Carolina fans: their team have a 0-6 record, the first time they’ve reached that low since 1998.
The Panthers’ 2023 season is already lost, but that doesn’t begin to cover the predicament the franchise has created for itself. If they remain on their trajectory as the league’s worst team, the Panthers will earn the first overall pick in April’s draft, but it will go to the Chicago Bears, who netted it in the return for the pick that Carolina used last April on Young. Reinforcements are not readily available. A creative front office could dig out of that hole, but it’s unclear how much latitude the Panthers staff have to fix the team. For Carolina fans’ sake, the answer is hopefully “more than it appears.”
