The Monday Pulse: putrid first halves and win totals
Welcome to the Monday Pulse!
We are Tutan Reyes (76) days away from the Carolina Panthers regular season home opener against the Chicago Bears.
As we inch closer to the Panthers reporting to camp, let’s take a look at some numbers.
Putrid first halves
Seven, three, three, zero, three and three.
Those figures represent the number of points the Panthers scored in first half of weeks 1 and 2 since Bryce Young’s rookie season in 2023.
They finished each of those games with the following point totals: 10, 17, 10, 3, 10 and 22.
Yes, the Panthers have scored exactly 10 points in each of their last three season openers.
Not surprisingly, the Panthers lost all six games. They haven’t won a game in week 1 or 2 since 2021, when they started 3-0 and ultimately cratered to a 5-12 record under Matt Rhule.
As the point totals indicate, the Panthers offense has been nothing short of disastrous in these games. The Panthers have also been careless with the football. They’ve turned the ball over 14 times and taken 16 sacks over the opening two weeks of the season since 2023.
Head Coach Dave Canales turned play calling over to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik in the offseason.
With one of the hardest schedules in the league, the Panthers cannot afford another 0-2 start out of the gate.
Win totals
Speaking of schedules, the Panthers have the third toughest in the league according to Warren Sharp.
Over under win prop bets have been released by the sports books and most of them have the Panthers number at 6.5 or 7.5.
Some have cited the 6.5 number as a sign of disrespect for the Panthers.
In reality, that number is probably correct.
To understand why, let’s review the Panthers 2025 season.
They went 8-9. They have not had a winning season since 2017.
Seven of their eight victories were by one possession. Six were by three points or less. The outlier of the group was the 30-0 victory against the Falcons in week 3.
The Panthers lost six of their nine games by double digits, four of those by 14 or more. The others were lost by two, three and five points.
If the Panthers offense can become more consistent, then surpassing that total is definitely a possibility. But if they continue to be the inconsistent bunch they’ve been, it’s going to be a struggle to surpass six wins.