The closest thing to a must-win game in years?

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Not judging any team, much less the Panthers, based on the first game of the season.

I'm old enough to recall plenty of great teams stumbling out of the gates on the way to a winning season and the playoffs.

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by NanuqoftheNorth

[Ocpanthertew714]

The level of optimism I have now compared to this time last year, is exponentially higher.

That being said, if we do lose to the Jets, that optimism will be shot, and back to the "how are the college QB's looking for drat" phase of the season. 

[SBBlue]

4 minutes ago, Ocpanthertew714 said:

The level of optimism I have now compared to this time last year, is exponentially higher.

That being said, if we do lose to the Jets, that optimism will be shot, and back to the "how are the college QB's looking for drat" phase of the season. 

If we play our best, and they play their best we wiil win. 
 

Edited August 12, 2021 by SBBlue

[NanuqoftheNorth]

The old saying: "It's not how you start, it's how you finish." seems more relevant than ever with a 17 game season.

[cookinwithgas]

The idea of finally getting back to the stadium with our fellow fans after a year and a half, just to watch them lose to the freaking Jets, is a very depressing one. This place would be a disaster for sure as well. The first game of the season, I've noticed the players and coaches are more focused on penalties, positioning and the running of the game they concentrated on in camp and less on the tendencies of the opposing team due to lack of relevant tape. This gives our defense the upper hand this year for the opener, I believe.

[Pup McBarky]

We could lose, but I don't think we will. And no, it's not a must-win.

[Mother Grabber]

if we lose the first game, and win the rest, including all the playoff games, is that still bad?

[top dawg]

1 minute ago, Ace420 said:

They have a good chance of surprising us because we have no film on them. Just because Wilson is playing bad in camp doesn't mean he won't light us up in a real game, similar to Cam Newton in 2011. 

In the NFL you don't know who the good teams are until about week 5 at the earliest.

Cam wasn't that bad.

We know who the good teams are. KC, Rams, Packers, Ravens, Titans, Steelers, Seahawks, Bucs...we just don't know who the surprise good teams are.

[Mother Grabber]

we’ve seen the pats with brady drop some duds early, and still be there when it matters. 

[L-TownCat]

3 minutes ago, Mother Grabber said:

if we lose the first game, and win the rest, including all the playoff games, is that still bad?

In February looking back?  Not at all.  Songs would be written.

but… the 6 days between Sunday #1 and Sunday #2 will be dark and fraught with danger. 

Even after a week 2 and 3 victory it’ll still be prickly around here.

[frankw]

Don't think you can really compare this to other teams who have dropped the opener and gone on to be successful. First of all coming off back to back 5 win seasons. Second of all how many of those teams acquired the starting qb of the opponent who was previously the worst team in the league? This is not a standard opener.

Edited August 12, 2021 by frankw

[Mr. Scot]

Week one is never a must win game.

[panthers55]

For me it depends how we play. If we play well but the Jets play better then I can accept a loss. If we play poorly then I won't be happy if we win or lose. Sure a win is a win but it won't give me that much hope for the future. On the other hand the measure of a team is how it handles adversity just as much as how they handle success. So even if we lose week 1, if we come back and smack NO I wil be much happier. 

[kungfoodude]

1 hour ago, CPsinceDay1 said:

For Darnold it is...

For the team overall...not really.

 

 

Basically this.

It probably hurts Darnold a little but I don't think it should get the team down too much. 16 more games to play after that one.