Panthers Predicted to Win NFC South Despite Inconsistent Start

The Carolina Panthers have been one of the more fascinating teams across the NFL this season, starting the year out 2-2.

Carolina has looked dominant in some weeks, and they've looked poor in others, leading to many questions around the team. Much of this has been centered around the defense, with the unit underperforming thus far.

Despite the front office investing a lot of money into the unit over the offseason, the defense just hasn't performed up to par. But there is still time for this group to turn things around the rest of the season.

Thankfully for the Panthers, the offense has been able to carry the load, with the Carolina leading the league in passing this season. The play from quarterback Bryce Young has been impressive, with the signal-caller looking like he has finally figured things out.

NFL analyst Ben Arthur of Fox Sports believes that the Panthers will end up winning the NFC South this season. Despite the inconsistency from Carolina this year, they remain the favorite to take the division crown again.

After multiple years of inconsistency, Young looks much more comfortable in the pocket, and it has translated into a lot of success on the field. For the season, the veteran has thrown for 1,268 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

Due to the play of Young, Carolina has been able to stay in games, despite the defense playing poorly. The entire offense has rallied around its leader, with Young looking like a potential MVP candidate if he can keep this up for the rest of the season. 

The main competition that the Panthers have in the NFC South this year is the Atlanta Falcons, who also sit at 2-2 on the year. But Carolina dominated Atlanta a few weeks ago, grabbing the tiebreaker, at least for now.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently winless, with starting quarterback Baker Mayfield out due to an injury for the next few weeks. And the New Orleans Saints have started the year off slowly, sitting at 1-3 on the season.

It's still very early, but the Panthers seem to be in a good spot right now, and the team is looking to repeat as NFC South champions. Carolina made the playoffs last year, despite having a record of 8-9.

That experience has seemed to help this team, and now the Panthers will be looking to grow even more as the season moves forward.