For the Carolina Panthers, the road back to relevance has been long, uneven, and often humiliating. They’ve cycled through quarterbacks, coaches, you name it. But they are finally on the right path.
And to secure a long-awaited spot in the playoffs, they'll have to confront ghosts from a disastrous era.
With three games left, the Panthers find themselves in an almost poetic spot. Their path to the postseason runs directly through two of the most painful chapters of the franchise’s recent past: Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.
Both were once viewed as solutions in Carolina, and neither lasted.