You’ll never guess who the Panthers are playing during the 2018 preseason.
Yes, for the sixteenth consecutive season and the twentieth time in their franchise history, the Panthers will once again face off with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth week of the preseason; Panthers fans can get familiar with stars Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell ahead of their regular season matchup, which will take place at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, this is the fifth time during the last two decades that the Panthers and Steelers will play during both the games that matter and those that don’t. Don’t expect to see too much of the Steelers’ stars though – the 36-year old Roethlisberger has only played in a single preseason game each of the past two seasons.
In addition to facing off against the team they’ve faced in the most preseason matchups, the Panthers will host the New England Patriots, the team they have the second-most preseason history with, matching up nine times over their franchise history with the team that vanquished them in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Panthers will likely get a good look at Tom Brady and the rest of his offense as the teams will play in the all-important third week of the preseason for the fourth time in five years – it’s certain to be called a ‘dress rehearsal’ by members of the media, this writer included.
The Panthers will be able to incorporate linebacker Thomas Davis into their lineup throughout the preseason, even though he will be suspended for the first four games of the season – suspensions only apply for the regular season. It will be interesting to see whether Davis gets his full load of preseason snaps, or if Ron Rivera and new defensive coordinator Eric Washington decide to see more of Shaq Thompson and David Mayo, the likely candidates to get Davis’ snaps the first quarter of the season.
The Panthers will face off with their friends to the north in their first taste of action, traveling for their Week 1 preseason game with the Buffalo Bills, where former defensive coordinator Sean McDermott has been collecting former Panthers players during his tenure, including wide receivers Kelvin Benjamin and Kaelin Clay; the Bills are also expected to have a shiny new rookie quarterback, which will make for an exciting Week 1 matchup. The Panthers will then travel from Buffalo back to Charlotte for Week 2 of the preseason, where they’ll take on a returning Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins; fans will be excited to see Frank Gore and the rest of the Dolphins – the Panthers have faced the Bills and the Dolphins exactly five times each during their franchise preseason history.
It should also be noted that the Panthers 2018 preseason slate is exactly the same as it was in 2015, the year in which the Panthers went 15-1 and won the NFC – the Panthers went 3-1 in 2015’s preseason – if they go 3-1 again this preseason, a trip to the Super Bowl is basically guaranteed. If all this schedule announcing has you excited, the regular season slate is due to drop next Thursday – here are the Panthers’ 2018 opponents.
| Home | Away |
|---|---|
| Falcons | Falcons |
| Saints | Saints |
| Bucs | Bucs |
| Cowboys | Eagles |
| Giants | Redskins |
| Ravens | Browns |
| Bengals | Steelers |
| Seahawks | Lions |
