Carolina Panthers 2020 NFL schedule: 5 must-win games

Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JANUARY 26: Keenan Allen #13 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs with the ball during the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 26, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JANUARY 26: Keenan Allen #13 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs with the ball during the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 26, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Away: Los Angeles Chargers

If this feels like a stretch, it is, but the Panthers have a tough schedule at times and the Chargers did only win 5 games last year.

It’s not as if the Panthers don’t have a chance to win games against tough opponents. They took the New Orleans Saints down to the wire last year, lost to the L.A. Rams by a field goal, beat the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans, and rolled over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s just that Ron Rivera was head coach at that point and the Panthers had yet to watch so many veterans walk away.

The Chargers are going to need to play like a team focused on a singular goal of making significant noise in the postseason or else head coach Anthony Lynn might be done in 2020. If the Panthers want to help make this happen, they’re going to need Rhule’s game plan to live up to his offensive reputation, given the Chargers couldn’t hold a single opponent below 10 points in 2019.

In short, score a lot of points, hope the Bolts are ruined by injuries as normal, and hope Matt Rhule is the coach that the Panthers brass believe him to be.