Admin May 16, 2024
What can we expect from NFL teams this upcoming season?
Mackenzie Salmon breaks down what to expect from a handful of teams as we lookahead to the 2024 NFL season.
Sports Seriously
Sir Purr need not groom himself for his close-up under the lights in 2024.
The Carolina Panthers will be the lone NFL team to have zero prime-time games on the schedule entering the season. They are playing a standalone game against the New York Giants in Germany on Nov. 10 (Week 10) at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Last year, the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans all did not receive prime -time placements with the league’s initial schedule release. However, the Texans and Colts played each other Week 18 in a game that was flexed to the Saturday night game on ESPN.
That the Panthers did not draw a prime-time game is not much of a surprise considering the team’s 2-15 showing last season – the league’s worst record – and state of the roster, as it is in the early stages of a rebuild under general manager Dan Morgan and owner David Tepper.
The Panthers traded what ended up becoming the 2024 No. 1 overall pick to the Chicago Bears last year for the right to draft Bryce Young, who struggled mightily in his rookie campaign. Head coach Frank Reich was fired 11 games into the season, and first-time head coach Dave Canales, most recently offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was hired this offseason to replace him.
During the offseason, the Panthers traded their most accomplished defensive player, two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Burns, to the New York Giants.
The New York Jets have the maximum allotment of six prime-time games and both they and the Kansas City Chiefs are scheduled for seven standalone games.
Carolina opens the 2024 regular season with a road NFC South matchup against the New Orleans Saints.