Michael Hull

Leading into training camp, we will be taking an in-depth look at the Bengals' 2026 opponents. The Bengals travel to Charlotte in Week 15 to take on the Carolina Panthers.

2025

The Panthers won the NFC South last season, finishing with a 8-9 record before falling to the Los Angeles Rams 34-31 in the Wild Card Round.

Carolina ranked 27th in the NFL in points per game on offense, scoring 18.3 points per contest. 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young improved in his third season, setting career bests in completion percentage (63.6%), passing yards (3,011) and passing touchdowns (23). Young received help from Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan. The first-round receiver out of Arizona caught 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns.

Carolina ranked 19th in rushing yards per game (116.3) and 17th in yards per carry (4.3) in 2025. The running game was led by former Cowboy Rico Dowdle, who cleared 1,000 yards on the ground for the second consecutive year in his lone season with the Panthers.

Defensively, the Panthers allowed 22.4 points per game last season, ranking 18th in the league, and 327.2 yards per game, ranking 17th. CB Jaycee Horn served as the team's only player selected to the Pro Bowl after ranking second in the NFL with five interceptions.

Offseason Changes

The Panthers signed two big-name free agents on the defensive side of the ball, inking LB Jaelan Phillips to a four-year deal and LB Devin Lloyd to a three-year deal. Phillips comes off a 2025 with the Philadelphia Eagles where he ranked ninth in the NFL with 73 QB pressures, per ESPN. Meanwhile, Lloyd had the best season of his career in 2025 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, recording five interceptions from his off-ball linebacker spot and being named to his first career Pro Bowl.

Offensively, the team went for depth in free agency. It signed former first-round pick QB Kenny Pickett, RB A.J. Dillon, WR John Metchie III, OTs Rasheed Walker and Stone Forsythe and C Luke Fortner to one-year contracts. The Panthers also signed WR Jalen Coker to a three-year contract extension. Coker caught nine passes for 134 yards and a touchdown in the team's Wild Card loss to the Rams.

Carolina attempted to shore up the trenches in the draft, selecting Georgia OT Monroe Freeling in the first round and Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter in the second round. It also added Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II in the third round as another weapon for Young.

Coaching Staff

Head coach Dave Canales enters his third season as head coach of the Panthers after spending the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spent his first 13 seasons in the NFL holding various roles with the Seattle Seahawks. Canales has helped the Panthers increase their win total by three games each season as head coach, jumping from two to five in his first season then five to eight last year.

Brad Idzik followed Canales from Tampa Bay to Carolina. Idzik spent 2023 as the wide receivers coach for the Buccaneers and had previously worked with Canales from 2019-22 in Seattle.

Ejiro Evero enters his fourth season on the Carolina coaching staff after being retained by Canales in 2023. Evero came to Carolina off a year with the Denver Broncos as their defensive coordinator. He also had stops with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers.

Series History

The Bengals are 4-3-1 all time against the Panthers. The tie came in a 37-37 shootout at Paycor Stadium in 2014. The teams met most recently in Charlotte in 2024, where the Bengals won 34-24.

What To Watch For

Last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year McMillan will draw CB DJ Turner II in coverage. Turner allowed 31 receptions on 66 targets last season in 580 coverage snaps, per PFF. Turner's 47% completion percentage allowed was the ninth-best among cornerbacks who faced at least 25 targets last season.