NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: Rams earn statement win in rematch with Saints

26. Carolina Panthers

Is it officially time to hit the panic button for the Carolina Panthers?

Normally, it’s easy to make the case that it’s only been two games, and the Panthers have plenty of time to turn things around, but it was surprising to see Ron Rivera’s team come up short the way they did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

When comparing these two teams from the last couple of seasons, Thursday’s game seemed like it would be an easy win for the Panthers before the Buccaneers handed them a major wake-up call.

While it was frustrating to watch Christian McCaffrey only finish with 53 scrimmage yards since a running back with his skill set should have been used more, it doesn’t even compare to the frustration surrounding Cam Newton heading into Week 3.

After an offseason consisting of questions over whether injuries would be a concern in 2019, Newton looked flat-out awful in the loss to the Buccaneers, and there’s simply no way to sugarcoat it.

Even if the argument can be made that Carolina was at a disadvantage over playing on a shorter week, Tampa Bay made out just fine on Thursday.

If Newton and Ron Rivera were already feeling the pressure before, just imagine how these two are feeling with Carolina sitting 0-2.