Carolina Panthers Schedule Preview: The 1st Placers

Panthers football returns Sunday at 4:00 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa. To prepare for the upcoming season, we will be looking at the Panthers schedule in four parts. The first part is the two teams that the Panthers play because they finished first in the NFC South last year. Those two teams are the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles, the teams that finished first in the NFC West and NFC East respectively.

Aug 28, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) congratulates his team after they scored during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

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Date

: 10/26

Location

: Bank of America Stadium

Seattle is a hard matchup for the Panthers because of their smothering defense. The Seahawks secondary is widely considered to be the league’s best, and the Panthers receivers are not. They will have a hard time getting open.

The Seahawks should also have a hard time against the Panthers front line, which is important to them because they rely on Marshawn Lynch to push the ball down the field. Neither offense should be expected to blow the score out of the water.

The outcome of this game should come down to turnovers and the playmaking skills of Russell Wilson and Cam Newton. Whomever makes that one unbelievable play between the two of them may decide the difference in this game.

Jan 30, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (right) is taunted by Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (left) during the Madden Bowl XX final at the USS Intrepid Mandatory. Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Eagles

Date: 11/10 (Monday Night)
Location: Lincoln Financial Field

The very next week, the Panthers will go from the Seahawks grin it out offense to the Eagles blitzkrieg offense. Coach Chip Kelly will offer lots of wrinkles to attack the Panthers defense, whether it be misdirections or lopsided offensive line formations. The Panther defense will need to play smart in order to survive.

The best defense that the Panthers have against the Philly offense is their own ball control offense. If the Panthers can control the clock, they can keep the Eagles offense off the field with a steady helping of Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams, and Mike Tolbert. The Panthers must resist the urge to play shootout football with the Eagles.

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