Panthers' Canales urges consistency to remain relevant

CAROLINA PANTHERS

The Carolina Panthers made do with another offensive line combination in their 16-13 win against the Green Bay Packers Nov. 2 at Lambeau Field.

Carolina Panthers tackle Ikem Ekwonu lined up opposite Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons and at the snap instinctively stepped to his left and attacked the four-time Pro Bowler with an aggressive left arm block. 
Parson bounced off the initial denial and tried a speed rush to the outside. 

Ekwonu pushed Parsons to the ground as quarterback Bryce Young stepped up in the pocket and hit receiver Tetairoa McMillan for a 16-yard pass over the middle. 
It was a rare offensive outburst during Sunday’s 16-13 win against the Packers at Lambeau Field, but highlighted Ekwonu’s work. Two starts after generating a career-best three sacks, Parsons failed to register a quarterback pressure for the first time in his career.  

“This is a player I respect so much (and) Ickey did a great job,” coach Dave Canales said during Monday’s video conference call. “You watch the impact Micah has on games. He shows up in every game. I was really our guys coming together and executing the plan that gave us an opportunity to be successful.”  

Ekwonu and the injury-plagued offensive line helped Carolina (5-4) rebound from a 40-9 rout against Buffalo on Oct. 26. The Panthers’ defense also bounced back, limiting the Packers (5-2-1) to just one score in five red-zone trips. 

Summarizing the collective effort against an offense that produced at least 27 points in six of their previous seven outings, Canales said: “Defensively, guys flying to the ball, showing up aggressively with violence. Derrick [Brown] again, just leading the charge. He had some amazing stack-monster plays.” 

Since starting 1-3, the Panthers are playing their way into playoff contention. They proved they can beat the NFC’s top team (Packers), win on the road (two in a row) and play dominant ball at home (3-1).  

But twice they performed like a rebuilding franchise that has not qualified for the postseason since 2017, getting run over by the Bills and New England Patriots. Their 26-10, season-opening lapse at Jacksonville could also be viewed as a dud.  

With two winnable NFC South matchups approaching against the New Orleans (1-8) Sunday and at the Atlanta Falcons (3-5) on Nov. 16,  Canales, who often preaches the concept of players “stacking days,” said he expects the Panthers to start putting together consistent outings and a sustained run.   

“Capturing the things that we learned: This is what our football (team) can look like when we take care of the ball,” he said Monday. “Capturing the style of play, I thought the style of play was amazing.  
“We just want to recapture that on a weekly basis.” 

To celebrate Sunday’s upset win over one of the NFC’s top clubs, Canales, one day before the NFL trade deadline, granted the players their first “Victory Monday” since he was hired before the start of the 2024 campaign. The Panthers, who are over .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2019, have won four of five.

“I think it’s important with this stretch, as we’ve talked about, for every Sunday at 1 o’clock for a lot of weeks in a row and just wanting to try to give a little bit of mental space, the physical space, obviously, for recovery," he said. 

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s trade deadline at 4 p.m., Canales pointed to general manager Dan Morgan’s belief of building primarily through the draft. In his first season as GM, Morgan executed five trades in 2024. The preseason Adam Thielen trade to Minnesota remains Morgan’s lone deal this season. 

"I also understand there's a lot more that goes into it, but it’s got to be fair value, and things have to match up,” Canales said. “The need with what you’re willing to give up for and understanding that as we put this team together and as we build it, all those picks in the draft are really important for us as we continue to build this team.”

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