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.
Baltimore Ravens
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.
View the best photos from Bengals-Panthers matchups of years past
QB Joe Burrow throws a pass during the Bengals Week 4 game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, Sunday, September 29, 2024.
Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill celebrates after scoring on a 3-yard run in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson boots a field goal against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (12) pulls in a reception as Carolina Panthers cornerback Melvin White (23) defends in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu runs after a catch against the Carolina Panthers in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (85) makes a catch as he is defended by Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) during an NFL football game on Sunday, November 6, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Brandon Tate (19) dives into the end zone for a touchdown after catching a five yard pass against Carolina Panthers cornerback Antoine Cason (20) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
A Bengals defender breaks up a pass against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas hauls in a long catch during the Bengals Week 4 game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, Sunday, September 29, 2024.
Former Cincinnati Bengals' Carson Palmer (9) hands off in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Rick Havner)
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow checks the play at the line of scrimmage against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Former Cincinnati Bengals' Jermaine Gresham (84) runs as Carolina Panthers' Sherrod Martin (23) defends in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Bengals defensive tackle Jay Tufele makes a diving tackle against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Former Cincinnati Bengals Giovani Bernard (25) slips by Carolina Panthers David Mayo (55) during the second half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018. The Panthers won 31-21. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase runs for a touchdown during the Bengals Week 4 game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, Sunday, September 29, 2024.
Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins makes a leaping grab against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen is sacked by former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Tank Johnson during an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
Bengals center Ted Karras celebrates a play against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) makes a throw during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, November 6, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
Former Cincinnati Bengals' Cedric Benson (32) runs as Carolina Panthers' Charles Godfrey (30) defends in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) runs against Carolina Panthers free safety Thomas DeCoud (21) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is tackled by former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall (29) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) gestures prior to a snap during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, November 6, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill bursts through the line of scrimmage to attempt a tackle against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) celebrates a reception against the Carolina Panthers during a NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
