While the Carolina Panthers scratched and clawed to stay in the game versus the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the game eventually slipped away from them after squandering another late game opportunity. Considering the beatdown they were given by the Chicago Bears a game prior, coming out and playing a competitive game for nearly 50 minutes is a positive, at least for now.
While there was some optimism in the offseason the team could out-perform some admittedly low expectations, the rash of injuries suffered by the Panthers early in the season made the script for this season clear once again: the Panthers aren’t going to compete for anything this year.