The Carolina Panthers fell short this past week against the Green Bay Packers, falling on the road on Thursday Night Football.

This loss to Green Bay came off a poor performance the week before against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the Panthers getting blown off the field. Carolina has now dropped two games in a row, sitting with a record of 3-4 on the season.

The offense for the Panthers has faltered in recent weeks, with the explosive unit coming back down to earth. Quarterback Bryce Young's MVP candidacy has taken a major hit, with the noise around the starter being silenced for now.

Through the first few weeks of the NFL season, Young looked as if he had taken a step forward in terms of his overall development. Young was reading defenses much more accurately while showing poise in the pocket.

But over the last few weeks, Young has regressed back to his old self, with the Panthers paying the price in the win column. This team is going to need Young to step back up as the year goes along if they want to take home the NFC South title again.

ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak is now predicting that the Buccaneers, not the Panthers, will take home the NFC South this year. Given how the Panthers have played over the last few weeks, Tampa Bay seems to be trending in the right direction.

With the Buccaneers getting healthy at the right time, the Panthers may no longer be considered the favorites to win the NFC South this season. Carolina was throughly dominated two weeks ago by Tampa Bay, giving the Buccaneers the head-to-head tiebreaker, at least for now.

The two teams will meet again later in the season, but Tampa Bay has the feel of a team on the rise right now. Carolina will need to figure something out quickly; otherwise, the division crown will no longer be theirs to claim.

Carolina will be welcoming in the Denver Broncos this coming weekend, giving the offense another tough matchup to face.. Denver has one of the better defenses in the NFL, and for the Panthers to get a win, they will have to figure out how to overcome this challenge.

This Panthers team can't afford to keep dropping games, especially if the Buccaneers continue to stack wins. With Tampa Bay holding the tiebreaker over Carolina already, this could put the Panthers in a tough spot.