22. Carolina Panthers (3-10)
Losers of three games in a row now, the Carolina Panthers might be the most encouraged 3-10 team in NFL history, as second-year QB Bryce Young seemed to have benefitted from the benching earlier in the season. He’s playing with a ton of confidence, and has probably shut the door on any talk that the Panthers could take a QB with their top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Being that they are 3-10 on the year, they are still in range for the first overall pick, and you have to wonder what position they could be targeting. Getting an alpha at WR or a blue-chip prospect at LT could be what this team is needing.
I would also think they want to add more juice to their pass rush as well. While Young is not lighting up the stat sheet by any means, it’s clear that the second-year QB is playing some efficient football and is stacking some good performances together. Carolina is clearly better than they were at any point last year.
21. New Orleans Saints (5-8)
I guess you can’t count the New Orleans Saints out? They barely hung on to beat the New York Giants in Week 14, but Derek Carr left the game with an injury, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens going forward with Carr, who has been injured once already this season.
The Saints fired former head coach Dennis Allen several weeks ago and are now 5-8 on the season. The NFC South is a weak division, so they’re only two games behind. New Orleans would probably have to win-out to make it interesting, and it’s not likely that they’re able to do that.
New Orleans is in need of a rebuild, so while they could win more games down the stretch to close out the 2024 NFL Season, it should not change anything. The team needs to move on from Derek Carr and try to offload some of their larger, veteran contracts. The Saints could also turn to Spencer Rattler in 2025, as he’s got some enciting qualities. The second Sean Payton walked out the door, this franchise should have rebooted, as it was clear very early on that Dennis Allen was not cut-out to be a head coach in this league, and I am not sure what Mickey Loomis was thinking when he signed Derek Carr.
A win against the worst team in the NFL in Week 14 does not change anything about this team.