Each NFL team’s most important game in 2019

Carolina Panthers: Week 3 at Arizona Cardinals

There will be a lot of new faces in Charlotte this season when the Carolina Panthers take the field at home in Week 1. Perhaps more importantly, quarterback Cam Newton is already starting to look like his usually-productive self. This offseason, the 2015 NFL MVP underwent shoulder surgery to fix an issue that plagued him during the second half of this past season.

Of course, Ron Rivera’s team slumped badly a year ago after a 6-2 start. The Panthers would lose their next seven games before finishing the season with a 33-14 road victory over the Saints, a club resting many of its main players for the postseason.

So what’s the significance of a Week 3 matchup against the club that finished with the worst record in the league a year ago? Carolina’s season gets off to a tricky start with two games in a 12-day span. Rivera’s club hosts the reigning conference champion Rams on the first Sunday of the season before welcoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Charlotte on a Thursday night in Week 2. That’s a rough way to begin the year for any team, especially for a club that saw its share of departures this offseason.

Meanwhile, the trip west to Arizona begins a stretch where the team will play four road games in a six-week span, including an October 12 rematch with the Bucs in London. That should test the Panthers’ mettle.

Next: Chicago Bears