NFL Power rankings, Week 7: Panthers remain winless and almost unanimously in last place

Thank goodness it’s the bye week. We deserve a break from this team.

Another week of the 2023 NFL season is in the books, and the Panthers still have a grand total of zero wins.

With no changes in the win column in Carolina, there are no corresponding changes on the power rankings for Week 7. The Panthers remain almost unanimously in that No. 32 slot, except for Pro Football Talk, where Mike Florio has them ranked 31st, above the disastrously bad Patriots.

Here’s where the Panthers stand at the bye according to national analysts.

No. 32: NFL.com

We might be fresh out of unbeaten teams after Week 6, but we do have one team that stands alone at the bottom — the 0-6 Panthers, who would have enjoyed this week’s bye had they somehow found a way to hang onto a 14-0 lead in Miami. It never felt likely, but you’d hardly call Sunday a poor showing. The Panthers ran the ball relatively well, and Bryce Young played a turnover-free game with some encouraging moments. The defense wasn’t great but did force three three-and-outs and had a pick-six. Look, I think there’s a decent chance the Panthers won’t finish the season in this spot, or at the very least, I’d be shocked if they don’t win a game. In fact, I’ll say they win a game before the end of November. There is talent here. – Eric Edholm

No. 32: ESPN

Lesson learned: Rookie quarterbacks do struggle.

History supports this as only once since 1967 has a quarterback taken No. 1 overall had a winning record. So Bryce Young, as mature and advanced as he was advertised, being 0-5 for the 0-6 Panthers is not a huge surprise. Young needs more targets, particularly with speed, and upgrades to the offensive line to become successful — as has been evident with an offense ranked 23rd in scoring averaging 18.7 points per game. — David Newton

No. 32: The Athletic

Carolina is living out the worst of both worlds this season. The Panthers are the worst team in the league and traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Bears, so there’s no light at the end of this tunnel. Bryce Young, whom they traded that pick and more to draft this year, is 30th in the league in EPA per dropback (minus-.19), and the Panthers are already having to come out after games to defend their quarterback.

To keep from ending today on a complete downer, let’s say something nice about Adam Thielen. The 33-year-old wide receiver is ninth in the league with 509 receiving yards. – Josh Kendall

No. 32: Yahoo! Sports

It’s rare to see a team lead by 14 in a game and end up losing by 21. The Panthers even got a good game from rookie quarterback Bryce Young and still got blown out. The Panthers are bad. The one bit of good news for the one-win teams eyeing that first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is the Panthers won’t consider tanking because they don’t have their 2024 first-round selection. Good times in Carolina. – Frank Schwab

No. 32: CBS Sports

This is going to be a long, long season for this a group. The defense is a major problem, which many didn’t see coming. – Pete Prisco

No. 31: Pro Football Talk

Running a successful hedge fund is nothing like running a successful NFL team. – Mike Florio

No. 32: Fox Sports

It can’t please Panthers owner David Tepper to learn that this is his team’s first 0-6 start since 1998, back in the franchise’s early days. Even more brutal is that Carolina’s not in position to take advantage of all this bad football, since Chicago owns their first-round pick. – David Helman

No. 32: USA Today

Little has gone right for Carolina, but at least WR Adam Thielen continues to shine. Only two undrafted players have more 100-yard receiving games than his 24, and only one (Wes Welker) has more with double-digit catches than Thielen’s eight. – Nate Davis

Maybe the Broncos, Patriots, or Bears will look bad enough this week to bump the Panthers up the list by default, or maybe Carolina will come out swinging after the bye. We can hope.