After the Panthers 20-13 victory over the Washington Football Team in Week 16, there are many things still up in the air about the 2021 season, from the Panthers draft position – they started the day Sunday with the fourth pick and finished in the ninth and could still theoretically fall anywhere from fifth to 15th depending on the result of Week 17 – to who will be on the roster in Matt Rhule’s second season.
The Panthers 2021 schedule, however, is all but set – of the 17 games next season, 14 have been decided. In addition to their divisional opponents in the NFC South, the Panthers are set to take on the AFC and NFC East in 2021 after battling with the AFC West and the NFC North in 2020. Carolina finished 1-3 against both divisions with two of their five 2020 victories coming over the Chargers and Lions.
Next season, Matt Rhule and the Panthers hope to have a returning Christian McCaffrey to travel to iconic NFL venues in Buffalo, Miami, Dallas and New York to face the Giants. They’ll welcome the Eagles, Jets, Patriots and Washington Football Team to Bank of America Stadium in 2021 in addition to their normal NFC South opponents.
The Roaring Riot is certainly looking forward to a 2021 season where fans are theoretically welcomed back into NFL stadiums in full force.
The rotating opponents for next season will be from the NFC North (home) and NFC West (away). Whether the Panthers finish in third or fourth place in the NFC South will determine their opponent – they currently sit a game ahead of the Atlanta Falcons in third place and they’ll play whichever NFC North/NFC West team finishes in the same position.
The NFC North has already been decided, though – the Minnesota Vikings (6-9) will finish third and the Detroit Lions will finish fourth (5-10). The Panthers shut out the Lions 20-0 and lost 28-27 to the Vikings this season.
The San Francisco 49ers are currently fourth in the NFC North but depending on Week 17 results, the third place team could either be the Arizona Cardinals or the Los Angeles Rams – the two teams play each other for a potential playoff berth next Sunday.
Spider-Burns gets to QB Kyler Murray for the sack in 2019
NFL owners have not yet formally voted for a 17th game to be added to the 2021 schedule, but they’ve already approved the scheduling format, so expect an additional contest to come on the schedule, potentially not until the spring when TV rights are worked out. What we do know is that the game will be an interconference game, meaning the Panthers will play an AFC opponent based on division standings (like with the NFC North/West matchups above) – according to Albert Breer, the Panthers 17th game will come against the AFC South
Depending on where they finish, that will either be the Houston Texans or the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 17th contest will either be home or away on an annually rotating basis – whether the Panthers (and the rest of the NFC) will earn an extra home game has yet to be announced.
Panthers 2021 Opponents
Home
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Football Team
New England Patriots
New York Jets
NFC North Opponent (Lions/Vikings)
Away
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
NFC West Opponent (49ers/Rams/Cardinals)
Dallas Cowboys
Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
17th Game – AFC South Opponent (Jaguars/Texans)
