Panthers want to go from “being close” to being winners

The Panthers have been playing some of their best football of the season over the last three weeks, but their hard work has not resulted in a win.

After three-point losses to the Chiefs and Buccaneers, the Panthers fell 22-16 to the Eagles on Sunday when rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette couldn’t hold onto a deep pass from quarterback Bryce Young while coming to the ground in the final minute. After the game, right guard Robert Hunt said the loss was the latest sign that the Panthers are close to breaking through before adding that “the idea is to change the narrative of being close.”

Young agreed with his teammate about it being time to do more than play the role of a valiant loser.

“There’s no participation trophies, no consolation,” Young said, via the team’s website. “Coach says it all the time: it’s about us, and when we’re executing, we’re at our best. We’re able to just focus on that, and again, it’s not a consolation for today, but it gives us some stuff on film to build off of, the opportunity to identify things we’re doing well, how we continue to do it, how we build off of it and the same mindset of how we can improve on things. I think just being in the headspace is good for growth, but now it’s on us to make sure we actually grow and take those steps.”

The next chance to go from being on the verge to actually winning will come at home against the Cowboys next Sunday and getting that done would mark an important step toward the Panthers being more than just a good story down the stretch.