Carolina Panthers 2026 fan mailbag: Injury woes, scoring points, safety room, and more!

Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! I’m here to answer all your questions from earlier in the week, whether they be Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic! Let’s dive right in to all your questions!

kevinjalltheway: The Eagles still had a very good defense. If we had wanted to, we could have made it a 2 touchdown win at least with a field goal, let alone powered it in for another touchdown and a 18 point margin of victory. Points scored do matter in playoff scenarios right? I believe I remember years ago when we were competing with the Packers for a playoff spot and we were piling up points on the Buc’s (?) as Green Bay was piling up points against whoever they were playing and we were scoreboard watching.

Its very rare that points scored factors into anything, usually the head to head matchups end up being the tie breakers for playoff scenarios in the wild card. I also think with how beaten up this offensive line has been, just getting out of there with the win made a lot of sense. I’m not concerned at all with the decision, and we don’t have to deal with the same hate as fans we had for Sean Payton for running up the score.

He’s certainly on pace for it. The Panthers still have a long schedule ahead of them and an injury or two to the receiving options makes that harder. So my official answer is, improbable, but not impossible.

schrodingersblackcat: You’re suddenly and inexplicably teleported to the opposing team’s pass rush. Would you rather try to get past Tremble or Hubbard?

Chuba Hubbard is a great pass blocker for a running back, but I’m definitely not trying to square up with Tommy Tremble in this scenario. Dude already entered the league as a great blocker and his receiving skills have developed over time.

brake23: The safety room has become very interesting. Zakee Wheatley is beginning to emerge as a clear starter moving forward and played 81% of the snaps on Sunday. However, I noticed Ransom to be missing. I thought that he and Chau Smith-Wade’s snaps would have went up with Jaycee and MJ out. Smith-Wade had 2 snaps on defense and Ransom only had 1!!! Is this a result of bad play from either one of them or is Evero just obsessed with sticking with Nick Scott and now Akayleb Evans? I guess this speaks volumes on how he feels about Wheatley being in most of the game as a rookie and essentially benching Ransom.

Lathan Ransom’s skillset mirrors that of Tre’Von Moehrig, so I think its more about fielding a diversified skillset rather than having preferences or one guy playing worse than another. Nick Scott is still their deep middle safety, but I think Zakee Wheatley will eventually take that role from him now that we’re seeing consistency. Ejiro Evero has very specific roles in his defenses and he’s fitting the pieces in. Akayleb Evans having a large amount of snaps is puzzling, but I am willing to let Evero cook after a fantastic showing against the Eagles by the entire secondary.

sgtx: Hey Brian, The Panthers are riding high and I don’t know how to feel? Help me out.

I feel things. I am not sure what they are. But feeling things is better than feeling nothing, which was the norm since the end of the 2010s.

DeacCat: Do we need to be concerned that Jaeden Phillips has (I think) only seven tackles in the last four games?

Oysters: Raw, Roasted, Steamed, Other?

Jaelan Phillips has shown more of an impact simply being on the field than he has as a pass rusher from a statistical standpoint. He collapses the pocket, sets the edge, and pursues in both the rushing and passing game extremely well. His presence opens up the rest of the defense for better matchups and paths in their gaps and pass rushing lanes. Certainly concerning he has been injured, but when he’s in the game, he’s been worth every penny.

I am definitely a raw oysters guy. There’s just nothing like it, and a versatile dish. That said, I’m pretty much okay with any style of oyster. Sound off on your favorites in the comments!

hollywud: Since someone brought up our safeties, How would you view Tre’von Moehrig’s play this year overall? He doesn’t get mentioned much but seems to be Evero’s chess piece in the defensive scheme.

Once Evero started using him as more of a pseudo-linebacker last year, he’s been excellent. His strengths have always been as a blitzer and in run support, and the way Evero deploys him allows them to use guys like Zakee Wheatley, Lathan Ransom, and Nick Scott in more complimentary roles. I think Zakee Wheatley is the big benefactor of having someone like Tre on the field, because he does a lot of things that Wheatley doesn’t excel at. They are building a nice little stable of safeties.

Coach_K: Trade deadline not til Nov 10th, but stories/speculation is increasing this week as more players are being waived. Cornerback will be spotlighted no doubt. But how about the running back position? Heard Jonathan Brooks is getting close to coming back, at least jogging. Do you think we’ll bolster that RB position regardless? For instance, saw Najee Harris was let go the other day. It seems like it’s always been for us to have two running backs to share the ball

The Panthers seem content shuffling their group of running backs as the rest of the guys behind Chuba Hubbard get healthy. They brought back Trevor Etienne and he had a role this week. I don’t expect them to make any major moves on RB unless Chuba becomes unavailable for an extended period. Probably looking at more of a waiver wire or free agency transaction than a trade.

SnarkyComet: Which injured player do you think we’re missing the most right now? Not necessarily our best player who’s out, but if you had a magic wand and could heal any player and insert them directly into the roster, whose return would make the biggest difference given where the team stands today?

Probably Jaycee Horn by a country mile, and that’s no slight on anyone else who is injured. There was a clear plan for Horn to man the middle as their nickel corner while still playing outside, he was another chess piece Evero intended to move around as needed. Horn can do it all, he can even blitz extremely well when called upon. I think this defense would be in much better shape if Will Lee was only filling in for Mike Jackson rather than being the number one corner by default. But EDGE Nic Scourton is a very close second, I think this pass rush would be much better rushing four guys if Scourton was fully healthy.

SnarkyComet: Looking at the Bucs’ record and the fact that we’re road favorites again this week, it’s easy to feel pretty good about this matchup. But it’s also a divisional rivalry, and we all know how quickly those games can defy expectations. So, what does a Panthers loss look like on Sunday? What are the biggest things Carolina needs to avoid to make sure we come away with a win?

The Bucs defense, especially against the run, is underrated. If the Panthers are forced to be one dimensional on offense or simply can’t keep on schedule, that creates a recipe for a very close game that’s won by only one or two big key plays. And the Panthers just can’t stop getting flagged for penalties. They need to come out swinging fast to win this one, in my opinion.

That’s all for this week Panthers fans! Enjoy Game Day, and KEEP POUNDING!!