Four games into the season, the Panthers don’t look like an offense hunting for answers anymore. They look like one that can ask a defense a few uncomfortable questions all at once.
That starts with Tetairoa McMillan, who made Detroit’s secondary pay in a huge way on Sunday night. He finished with 14 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first player in Panthers history to post at least 10 receptions, 175 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game. The performance earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Carolina didn’t just feed him in one spot and dare the Lions to react. Panthers.com detailed how the Panthers kept moving McMillan around, and Dave Canales said the staff was “putting him in different situations, getting matchups right.”
So yes, he’s the first name a defense has to locate. But he’s not the only one.
If a coordinator overcommits to McMillan, Chuba Hubbard can make that feel like a mistake in a hurry. Hubbard ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns against Detroit, and the Panthers have shown enough on the ground that letting him chip away all game is a dangerous plan. He has also caught 10 passes with two touchdowns this season.
The passing game has other layers too, even beyond Sunday’s box score. Jalen Coker didn’t suit up against Detroit, but just a few weeks ago he caught eight passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago. Darren Waller has also been a factor, catching two touchdowns against Atlanta.
That’s the part that stands out now: Carolina has real options. Not one.
Not two. Multiple.
And the numbers back up the shift. According to Panthers.com, the team’s 2025 start is the most points through four games in franchise history. Carolina has also scored at least 30 points three times, something no Panthers team had done in three of its first four games before.
Bryce Young has been at the center of it, throwing for 1,268 yards and nine touchdowns. McMillan already has 385 receiving yards, Hubbard is coming off his best rushing game of the season, and Coker has missed the last couple of weeks.
That’s a far cry from the version of this offense that spent so much time trying to patch obvious holes around Young. For most of his career, the conversation has been about what Carolina still needed to add.
After what this group has shown over four games, that question sounds different now.
It’s still early, and this is a team that has already swung from getting embarrassed by Chicago to beating Detroit on Sunday night. So there’s no reason to hand out any grand verdicts yet.
But this much is clear: McMillan can win downfield, Hubbard can wear you down, Young can throw it around, and Coker is waiting in the wings.
That’s why the Panthers have suddenly become such a headache for defensive coordinators. The issue isn’t whether Bryce Young has enough help anymore.
It’s deciding who to stop first.
In Other News...
Panthers May Finally Have Their Defensive Centerpiece Again
Devin Lloyds latest outing against Atlanta gave Carolina exactly the kind of defensive spark this group has been missing. The Panthers linebacker was everywhere, piling up nine tackles, picking off two passes, breaking up three others and adding a sack, a performance that quickly pushed him into the center of the conversation around the defense.
Dave Canales and teammate Jaelan Phillips were quick to praise both Lloyds production and his leadership, and with good reason. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after becoming the first NFL linebacker since 1982 to hit that combination in one game, a reminder that Carolina may finally have its defensive centerpiece back in full view. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Is Finally Giving Panthers Fans A Reason To Believe
Bryce Youngs rise has given the Panthers something they have not had enough of in recent years: a quarterback trend worth watching for the right reasons. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick first flashed it in that playoff game against the Rams, and since then he has carried that momentum into a strong 2026 season under Dave Canales, with Carolinas offense looking more cohesive and more dangerous than it has in a while.
What makes it matter in Charlotte is not just the production, but the way it has come together around him. Young has navigated injuries to key teammates and still found ways to keep the offense moving, including a scheme built around run-pass options that seems to fit his game well. After four years of gradual improvement, the Panthers are finally in a place where their franchise quarterback is giving fans a real reason to believe, even if the larger picture is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Has Panthers Fans Asking How Real This NFC South Push Is
The win over Detroit gave Carolina something it has not had much of lately: a stretch of real, visible momentum. At 2-2, the Panthers head into the bye week atop the NFC South standings, and Bryce Youngs performance against the Lions was a big reason why. So was Tetairoa McMillans impact in the 32-26 victory, which looked less like a fluke and more like the kind of game that can change the tone around a team.
Still, the bigger question is how much of this early push is sustainable once the schedule tightens and the division games start to stack up. CBS Sports has Carolina in its probably about average tier, grouped with Atlanta and ahead of a Tampa Bay-New Orleans duo that sits lower right now, which feels like a fair snapshot of where things stand. The Panthers have earned the right to be part of the conversation, but the bye week also gives everyone a chance to ask whether this is the start of something real or just a brief opening in a wide-open NFC South. [Read more 🡒]