Columnist image

| Archive

The Carolina Panthers have officially hit rock bottom.

All of us that have paid attention in recent seasons understood that they were sinking.

Like a ship lost at sea, they’ve battled storms for so long, it’s hard to remember what calm waters even look like.

Now, after a historically dreadful start to the 2024 NFL season, it seems like even their most optimistic fans get that there’s little point in grasping for hope anymore.

On Tuesday, the Panthers benched 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young in favour of Andy Dalton.

The fact that they decided to bench their franchise QB just two games into the season was a surprise to many.

It wasn’t because there is still reason to believe that Young could turn things around for the Carolina offence, because there isn’t.

It’s because every single decision that the organization has made over the past two years was supposed to help ensure that Young would succeed in the NFL.

And it took only two games for the team to bench him.

At this point in time, the Panthers are considered more likely to succeed with the 36-year-old veteran Dalton than with the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The team admitted as much when they benched Young.

We’ve seen that same sentiment in NFL betting markets.

This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday September 18th, 2024.

Panthers Bench Bryce Young After Rough Start

It might seem like a long time ago now, but it was only 16 months ago that Young and C.J. Stroud had nearly identical odds to go first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

In the weeks leading up to the draft, the two QBs took turns as the favourite to go No. 1 at FanDuel.

Ultimately, the person who made the final call within the Panthers organization decided to take Young over Stroud.

The rest – as they say – is history.

Stroud is the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a top three choice to win NFL regular season MVP at FanDuel this morning.

The Houston Texans are 2-0 and only three teams have shorter odds to win the Super Bowl. 

Meanwhile, the Panthers are a combined 2-16 with Young as their starting QB.

That’s the worst record in the NFL by a starting QB selected first overall in the Common Draft Era.

Carolina’s in-season adjusted win total is 3.5 at FanDuel – the lowest mark in the NFL.

We’re two games into the season, and the Panthers have longer odds to make the playoffs than the 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals odds to win the Super Bowl.

After all the offseason hype surrounding the arrival of head coach Dave Canales and some veteran pieces, the Panthers were outscored by 60 points in back-to-back losses, which is the worst mark by a team in their first two games since 2019.

Carolina has been outscored 50-3 in the first half alone.

It’s hard to find a reason to believe that things would get better with Young at quarterback.

Canales is the Panthers’ fifth different full-time or interim head coach over the last 2.5 seasons.

They’ve traded countless veterans and draft picks over that same period and ended up with a severe lack of superstar talent on both sides of the football.

 

At the same time, Young has performed so poorly through the first two games that it would be impossible to evaluate the rest of the roster.

The move to start Dalton over Young makes sense for several reasons.

The most obvious reason is that Dalton gives them the best chance to succeed now.

That sentiment is reflected in the movement we’ve seen at FanDuel for Carolina’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday.

The Panthers could be found as high as +7 at FanDuel.

After the move from Young to Dalton, that number has come down to Carolina +5.5.

The QB swap has resulted in a 1.5-point move in Carolina’s favour.

 

The Panthers could not perform any worse than they did with Young at quarterback over the first two weeks.

They might not beat the Raiders or cover the spread, but at the very least they should look like a much more capable team, which should give all the other players a chance to do their job.

For a franchise that still has a long rebuild in front of them, that’s at least a good place to start over again.