NFL power rankings: Panthers batted down after brutal loss to Dolphins

It’s officially that time of the week: NFL Power Rankings. The Carolina Panthers (5-7) lost to the Miami Dolphins (5-7) on Sunday, 33-10. It was a tough day that got even tougher when we later learned that running back Christian McCaffrey is done for the season. The Panthers have now lost seven of their last nine games after starting the season 3-0.

National media responded by dropping the Panthers down by an average of three spots. Aggregating several rankings, the Panthers come out to an average of No. 24 (last week: No. 21) in the 32-team NFL.

Let’s check out what outlets around the league are saying about the Panthers after Week 9:

NFL.com: No. 24 (was 24)

Week 12 represented a doomsday scenario for the 2021 Panthers. Consider the setbacks in a 33-10 loss to the Dolphins: Cam Newton imploded with a career-worst performance that once again led to Matt Rhule answering questions about who will be his starting quarterback moving forward. The defense — the supposed bedrock of this team — got pushed around for the second straight week. And then there’s Christian McCaffrey, who suffered another injury — this time to his ankle — deemed severe enough to end his season. CMC has now lost back-to-back years of his prime to assorted ailments. The Panthers have to face some hard truths this offseason, including the wisdom of building an offense around a supremely talented but injury-prone running back.

NBC Sports: No. 25 (was 22)

Cam Newton has lost his last 10 starts for the Panthers dating back to 2018. Good vibes and nostalgia don’t win games in the NFL.

CBS Sports: No. 24 (was 21)

It’s obvious that Cam Newton isn’t rescuing this team or getting them to the playoffs. He’s struggling and now won’t have Christian McCaffrey the rest of the way.

ESPN: No. 24 (was 19)

Week 6 confidence rating: 5.0

How it’s going now: 4.4

The Panthers are 2-4 since Week 6 despite getting key players such as RB Christian McCaffrey and LB Shaq Thompson back. The biggest issue — among many — has been poor quarterback play. First it was Sam Darnold, who had no touchdown passes and four interceptions during a three-game span before going on injured reserve. And he was looking shaky before that. Then Cam Newton entered the equation. After a solid start, his game fell apart on Sunday at Miami. Until that position stabilizes, the confidence level will continue to drop. — David Newton

ESPN Football Power Index: No. 24 (-2.1) (was 22)

Sporting News: No. 24 (was 22)

What was that? Cam Newton needed to throw to win a game in Miami, and he wasn’t up to the task. The Panthers also created more QB confusion by putting P.J. Walker in for more work. They also fell apart defensively. This has been a tale of two seasons, one that will only get tougher.

Pro Football Network: No. 21 (was 20)

There’s a chance the Panthers’ loss against Miami was the result of an off week. But if it was, it still shows their offensive floor is in the basement. The defense can only do so much to keep this team in games.

Cam Newton was awful. I’m not sure the last time I remember a quarterback throwing 20+ times while only completing 23.8% of his passes.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an intern or an in at Elias Sports Bureau to tell me the last time it happened. I assume it was when NFL QBs were still ripping darts on the sideline like Blake Bortles working construction.

In the end, this is probably just karma for passing on a rookie QB to build around. Choosing to give up assets on a reclamation project with a team as young as Carolina could be the straw that eventually breaks this staff’s back.

Yahoo! Sports: No. 24 (was 22)

Pretty much every big second contract for a running back recently has not worked out, with the exception of Derrick Henry (who is the exception to everything). Christian McCaffrey is a great player and it’s understandable why the Panthers paid him, but it was easy to see it turning out exactly as it has.

New York Post: No. 26 (was 23)

Sports Illustrated No. 25 (was 18)

There have just been too many moving pieces on offense for Matt Rhule to achieve any sort of real consistency in Year 2. And that starts at quarterback.

DraftKings: No. 16 (was 12)

DraftKings has moved from subjective assessments to using spread differential. Point differential is a helpful tool for figuring out the best and worst teams. However, point spread can offer a little more context to how good or bad teams might be. The top of the rankings includes most of the really good teams and the bottom includes most of the really bad teams.

Czikk’s view: No. 22 (was 19)

Sunday was probably one of the more painful losses this season for the bad-luck Panthers. Quarterback Cam Newton had a brutal day just one week after scoring three touchdowns. On Sunday Newton went 5-of-21 for 92 yards and 2 interceptions as the Panthers couldn’t crack 200 yards on offense.

It’s possible that neither last week’s nor this week’s performance was representative of what Newton can reasonably provide for the Panthers. Perhaps it’s more likely that the veteran pigskin-thrower can fit in the middle, no blowing teams out but still producing a pair of touchdowns and 180-ish yards passing. Given the defense’s ability, that might be all that Matt Rhule needs. We’ll see if we can get that performance on Sunday against the Falcons. The season is certainly not over for Carolina and a Wild Card spot is still possible. There remains a glut of five-win teams in the NFC fighting for that final spot.