Cаrolіnа Pаntһerѕ rаnked аmong beѕt teаmѕ to mіѕѕ NFL Plаyoffѕ

The Panthers may have missed out on playing in the postseason again, but that may change in 2025.

On paper the Carolina Panthers were once again one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. They finished with a 5-12 record, good for a third-place finish in the NFC South. That makes seven straight years that they have posted a losing record and seven since they made the playoffs. While they still have a lot of work to do, there were a lot of positive signs towards the end of the 2024 campaign.

Offensively they were among the most-efficient teams in the league in the last month of the regular season - and if they'd gotten a few breaks they easily could have finished with two or three more wins than they did. Looking ahead, it's not hard to see this team ending the 2025 campaign in a much better spot than they're at now. According to Jeremy Hannah at Newsweek, the Panthers are one of the five best teams in the league that missed the playoffs.

Newsweek on the rising Carolina Panthers

"While there are definitely sections where they can make an improvement, specifically the defense, the Panthers have shown in the latter half of the season that they can play with the best of them. After a rough start, quarterback Bryce Young showed that he is the future of Carolina by completing 197 passes for 2,104 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushing for five touchdowns in his last 10 games."

The biggest item to check off is finding somebody who can help Derrick Brown stop the bleeding against the run. Carolina doesn't necessarily have to use the number eight overall pick on the top iDL prospect available, but it's difficult to come up with a better use of that draft capital, especially now that we know Bryce Young is the guy going forward at quarterback.

Once the Panthers have another strong DT up front, they should address their edge rush, a unit that is top-heavy at best with Jadeveon Clowney and DJ Wonnum and not much else. They'll also need depth at linebacker and as much help as they can possibly get at safety. Carolina should also make room for an upgrade or two at wide receiver.

If they can get all that done and Bryce Young continues to build on the good work he did in the second half of this season, there's a very good chance they'll make the playoffs in 2025.