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The Carolina Panthers made significant strides in their second year under head coach Dave Canales in 2025, despite finishing with a middling 8-9 regular-season record. The win total still represented a three-win improvement from Canales’ 2024 debut campaign and was enough to allow Carolina to punch a playoff ticket as the winners of the NFC South. Canales’ greatest value may have once again been his tutelage of once-embattled No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who the offensive-minded coach helped take another step forward last season.
For the second time in as many seasons under Canales, Young set new career highs in multiple categories, including completion percentage (63.6), passing yards (3,011) and passing touchdowns (23). The fourth-year pro also got more aggressive downfield, recording a career-best 39 completions of 20+ yards and authoring a pair of 300-yard games. The Panthers’ 2026 fortunes once again hinge heavily on Young, who, despite the unfortunate season-ending knee injury already suffered by rookie third-round pick Chris Brazzell, still has a highly promising young receiver corps that also includes Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette and Jimmy Horn at his disposal.
The ground game should once again be in fine shape with Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks at its helm, although the health of Taylor Moton, who’s opened camp in the NFI list due to blood clots, will be key to the fortunes of the entire unit. Meanwhile, the defense suffered a significant loss on the first practice of camp when second-year linebacker Nic Scourton went down for the season with a torn ACL, but free-agent signing Jaelan Phillips and free-agent signing Devin Lloyd still brighten the outlook of a defense that was already solid last season while allowing 22.4 points and 327.2 total yards per game.
2026 Carolina Panthers Super Bowl Odds
The Panthers, despite their status as reigning NFC South champions, are unsurprisingly sporting fairly long Super Bowl winner odds. Canales’ squad checks in at +9000 or longer, and that lands as an accurate assessment, especially after the team already suffered two key season-ending injuries in the early days of training camp. Additionally, while Young certainly no longer looks like an absolute bust of a first overall pick, he’s arguably still trying to crack the top half of his position heading into the 2026 campaign. A one- or two-win improvement over last season’s 8-9 mark could certainly be in the cards for the Panthers, but they’re nowhere close to a sure thing to repeat as division champs, let alone hoist a Lombardi Trophy next February.
Bet: No
2026 Carolina Panthers NFC Championship Odds
It’s entirely possible the Panthers could be a better overall team than last season and still struggle to have it reflect in their record. Carolina has the relative misfortune of trying to take the next step as a young team in a conference with an elite upper echelon spearheaded by the defending champion Seahawks. The Panthers have the third-longest odds to emerge from the NFC at the end of the postseason, a sign of how flimsy last year’s division title is in the eyes of oddsmakers. While there’s a significant drop-off when it comes to the team with the longest odds — the Cardinals — the Panthers are still a longshot in every sense of the word that doesn’t appear to have quarterback play or enough experience at receiver to get to the top of the conference mountain.
Bet: No
2026 Carolina Panthers NFC South Odds
Despite their status as defending division champs, the Panthers sport the third-longest odds in the NFC South winner market behind the Buccaneers and Saints. In contrast to the first two markets discussed, this makes Carolina an excellent value in a division that is truly up for grabs in 2026. The Bucs certainly have the talent and experience to win the crown, while the Falcons and Saints also have the skill-position assets to thrive if their quarterback situations work out favorably. However, the Panthers have a certain intangible advantage as incumbents, not to mention plenty of talent on either side of the ball and possibly the division’s top defense. Given the combination of these factors, this is a value bet very worthy of consideration.
Bet: Yes
2026 Carolina Panthers Win Total Odds
The Panthers sport a win total that portends a slight downturn from last season, an interesting outlook considering Young should be at mastery level of Canales’ system at this point and key players such as McMillan, Coker and Horn should be even better with the experience of last season under their belt. Then, the injury-prone but very talented Brooks could prove to be quite the X-factor if he can finally remain healthy for a full season. As alluded to earlier, the defense is already a quality unit and could take another step forward, making the Over on the 7.5 a very viable bet.
Bet: Over
2026 Carolina Panthers To Make The Playoffs Odds
Any member of the NFC South could have a very solid season and still miss out on the postseason because of the overall quality of the NFC. While I back the idea of Carolina getting to the eight-win threshold, that’s highly unlikely to be enough to secure the division crown for a second straight season. The non-division schedule — which includes road matchups in Philadelphia, Green Bay and Pittsburgh, along with a home date against the Broncos — is treacherous enough on paper to make a winning record elusive and this bet a no-go.
Bet: No
2026 Carolina Panthers MVP Award Odds & Contenders
- Bryce Young
Young’s MVP odds are in the five-digit range and unsurprisingly so. Another new set of career highs could well be in the offing in Young’s third year under Canales, yet that is still likely to leave him way short of an MVP award, especially given the Panthers’ relatively tepid team outlook and the competition both at his position and elsewhere (Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Brock Bowers, Trey McBride).
Bet: No
2026 Carolina Panthers Schedule
- Week 1 – vs. Chicago, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 2 – at Atlanta, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 3 – at Cleveland, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 4 – vs. Detroit, 8:20 p.m. (SNF) – NBC
- Week 5 – BYE
- Week 6 – at Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 7 – vs. Tampa Bay, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 8 – at Green Bay, 8:15 p.m. (TNF) – APVO
- Week 9 – vs. Denver, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 10 – at New Orleans, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 11 – vs. Baltimore, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 12 – at Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m. – ESPN
- Week 13 – at Minnesota, 4:25 p.m. – CBS
- Week 14 – vs. New Orleans, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 15 – vs. Cincinnati, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 16 – at Pittsburgh, TBD
- Week 17 – vs. Seattle, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 18 – vs. Atlanta, TBD
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Photo Credit: REUTERS
