It was hard to believe that, after a 6-2 start to the 2018 season, the Carolina Panthers would finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs by a wide margin.
So much was going right. So many of the roster pieces important to Carolina’s long-term future were playing well.
The offensive line, minus its starting left and right tackles, gave up a franchise-low 10 sacks through the first seven games. Quarterback Cam Newton had a career-high completion percentage with career-low interceptions thrown during that span.
Second-year running back Christian McCaffrey was beginning to show just how much of the offense will ultimately run through him.