{"id":232,"date":"2026-05-16T08:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=232"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:34:16","slug":"on-carolina-panthers-schedule-here-are-the-games-to-circle-on-your-nfl-calendar-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"On Carolina Panthers schedule, here are the games to circle on your NFL calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers\u2019 schedule for the 2026 season is out, and you already know the highlights.<\/p>\n

Read more Ahead of Charlotte shows, \u2018Chappelle\u2019s Show\u2019 comic weighs in on Kevin Hart roast<\/a><\/p>\n

They open at home against the Chicago Bears, the team that they are inextricably linked to in the Bryce Young era<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their bye week comes Week 5, refreshingly early after last season\u2019s Week 14 bye.<\/p>\n

The Panthers also play in Monday Night Football. And Thursday Night Football. And<\/i> Sunday Night Football. And they travel a cumulative 8,700 miles from home over the course of their schedule \u2014 the least in the NFL.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re a fan hoping the Panthers replicate another trip to the NFL postseason \u2014 and maybe the franchise\u2019s first winning season since 2017<\/a> \u2014 where should your eyes go?<\/p>\n

Here are a few games to circle on your calendar.<\/p>\n

The Panthers open their season at Bank of America Stadium for the first time since 2022. That\u2019s a long time. The last time they won a season-opener was even longer \u2014 in 2021, when Sam Darnold trounced his old team in the New York Jets. And that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

After all, despite the NFL having \u201ca long season,\u201d Week 1 tends to be a powerful predictor for who makes the playoffs. In 2025, only five of the 14 teams to make the playoffs lost their Week 1 contest; some of those teams lost to other playoff opponents, in fact, like Carolina. Same story two years ago: Only five teams went 0-1 and made the postseason in 2024.<\/p>\n

Week 1 will certainly have a bunch of juice for other reasons for the Panthers. Carolina made a deal with the Bears ahead of the 2023 draft that sent a boatload of draft picks and offensive playmaker DJ Moore in exchange for the selection of that year\u2019s overall No. 1 pick, which the franchise spent on Young. That\u2019s made Young and 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams<\/a> \u2014 and the Panthers and Bears as a whole \u2014 the subjects of unending comparisons. And Week 1 is another data point in the quest to answer the query: Who won the trade?<\/p>\n

Eagles fans are notoriously boisterous. Just ask Panthers guard Robert Hunt, who has stories about Eagles fans climbing onto opposing team buses and wreaking havoc<\/a>. So the environment in Lincoln Financial Field will be intense and a test of the team\u2019s mettle through the first third of the season.<\/p>\n

But it will also indubitably be a great measure of what the Panthers could accomplish on the season. Carolina is matched up with the Eagles because both teams finished first in their respective divisions. The Panthers play three such games. Like every NFL team, they were slated to play teams of equal divisional standing from three other divisions in the NFL. This year, those teams just happened to hail from the NFC West, the AFC West and the NFC East<\/a> \u2014 so the Seahawks, the Broncos and the Eagles.<\/p>\n

The Panthers might have to win at least one of these games to stay in playoff contention. And their matchup with Philadelphia, though the Eagles are supremely talented and on the road, might be their best bet. Carolina is coming off its bye a week prior \u2014 Week 5 \u2014 and have matched up well with the Eagles before. (Remember: They were one Xavier Legette catch away from stunning the Eagles on the road in 2024.)<\/p>\n

Read more Carolina Panthers\u2019 Turk Wharton undergoes neck procedure ahead of OTAs<\/a><\/p>\n

You can make the argument that there are multiple three-game stretches on the Panthers\u2019 schedule that could \u201cmake or break\u201d the season. Ask former Panthers coach John Fox, and he\u2019d remind you that you\u2019re always two games away from \u201cdisaster\u201d \u2014 such is the nature of the NFL. But Weeks 8 through 10 caught my attention when trying to pinpoint the most critical fragment of the team\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n

The stretch starts in Green Bay, the team\u2019s Thursday Night Football contest in late October, the second of three prime-time games. Then afterward, the Panthers will face what is again expected to be one of the best defenses in the league in the Denver Broncos (on a \u201clong week,\u201d so to speak). Then arrives a massive division game against the Saints \u2014 on the road.<\/p>\n

Going 0-3 across this stretch is possible and could break the season. Going 2-1, or even 3-0, is possible, too, and could make<\/i> the season. Carolina\u2019s postseason hopes rests in significant part in what happens these three weeks.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never been to a Panthers game before, it\u2019ll be hard to find a more electrifying offense to watch than the one headed by quarterback phenom Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. And depending on what happens in Year One of their new head coach \u2014 Jesse Minter<\/a> \u2014 it could be a great game. The Panthers haven\u2019t faced the Baltimore Ravens since 2022. They\u2019re 4-3 all-time against them, their last win in the series coming in 2018.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty remarkable how great Young plays against the Falcons. It\u2019s statistically baffling. The last time he played them, most notably, came with a 123.2 passer rating \u2014 he threw a franchise-record 448 passing yards and three touchdowns on one ankle and in overtime<\/a> to deliver the Panthers a key win in his second matchup with them in 2025.<\/p>\n

So yes, Young versus the Falcons franchise is always appointment television for the Panthers fan base. What else is? The final week of the NFL season in a division like the NFC South, where teams tend to be so even that playoff decisions are often decided Week 18. (Last year, for instance, it was decided by a strange tiebreaker that the Panthers were beneficiaries of.)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to discount the other five division contests on the Panthers\u2019 schedule. Playing the Bucs on Monday Night Football in the middle of the season will be interesting \u2014 for the national spotlight, yes, but also for the fact that there\u2019s an interesting rivalry brewing between the two franchises. After all, there\u2019s a lot of connective tissue: Panthers head coach Dave Canales against his old coach; Bucs QB Baker Mayfield against his old team. And you could see it in Week 18 last year … things got testy!<\/a><\/p>\n

But assuming the Panthers are still in the hunt, the division matchup where my eyes first land is Week 18: Panthers vs. Falcons, Young vs. his own success and expectations, a game with everything on the line.<\/p>\n

Read more Child bitten by sloth at NC safari park, USDA inspection report says<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 12:59 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carolina Panthers NFL schedule dropped. Analysis of how Panthers can make run to playoffs again. Best home game? Can Bryce Young\u2019s lore vs. Falcons grow?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Carolina Panthers schedule, here are the games to circle on your NFL calendar - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=232\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On Carolina Panthers schedule, here are the games to circle on your NFL calendar - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Carolina Panthers NFL schedule dropped. 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