Panthers-Eagles Wasn't Supposed to Look Anything Like This

Go back about a month and look at Panthers-Eagles on the schedule. What did you think?

For me, Philadelphia on the road looked like one of the tougher games on Carolina's schedule. I wasn't automatically putting a loss beside it, but I also wasn't looking at that game and thinking this might be where the Panthers get above .500. At that point, we didn't even know what Carolina was going to look like.

I'm definitely not looking at it that way now. The Panthers are 2-2, they just beat Detroit 32-26, and they're coming out of the bye with a chance to have a winning record. I don't know how many people would've believed that if you told them before the season.

And it wasn't like Carolina just hung around against Detroit and stole one at the end. Bryce Young threw for 329 yards, Tetairoa McMillan had 192 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Chuba Hubbard ran for 122 yards and two scores. The Panthers put up 445 yards and looked like they belonged in that game.

Philadelphia has gone the other way.

This isn't the Eagles team I expected

The Eagles are 2-3 and have lost three straight. They just lost 19-17 to Jacksonville, and now they're coming home needing a win, probably a lot more than anyone expected at this point in the season.

I'm not going to act like that makes Philadelphia a bad football team. Jalen Hurts is still there, and there is enough talent on both sides of the ball to make this a miserable afternoon for Carolina if the Panthers don't play well. It's also Philadelphia on the road, which isn't exactly where you want to go expecting an easy Sunday.

But I don't look at this game and wonder how Carolina is going to keep up anymore. That's where my thinking has changed.

If the Panthers had started 1-3 and looked anything like they did against Chicago in Week 1, I'd probably be looking at Sunday completely differently. Instead, they followed that disaster by holding Atlanta to three points, had a chance to win late in Cleveland, and then beat Detroit.

I still don't know exactly what to make of this team, but I know it's better than what I thought I was watching after Week 1.

The Panthers have changed the conversation, too

It isn't just that Philadelphia has lost three straight. Carolina has given me a reason to expect more from it.

Young is a big part of that. He has 1,268 passing yards and nine touchdowns through four games, and right now I'm not going into games wondering whether Carolina can throw the football. I'm wondering what Young and this offense are going to do next.

That's a pretty big difference from where we've been.

McMillan has become a problem for defenses, Hubbard is still giving Carolina a running game, and suddenly Young has multiple guys he can go to. Even the defense, as strange as it has been at times, keeps finding ways to get turnovers or make a stop when it needs one.

None of that means Carolina has everything figured out. I watched Chicago put 59 on this defense, and I watched the Panthers let one get away in Cleveland. Four games aren't enough for me to forget about the things that can still go wrong with this team.

But I don't think going into Philadelphia and keeping it close is enough anymore. Carolina had a week off after its biggest win of the season, the Panthers are 2-2, and Philadelphia is 2-3. There's a real opportunity sitting there.

Win Sunday, and Carolina comes out of its bye and moves to 3-2 with people having a completely different conversation about this team.

A month ago, I would've wanted to see if the Panthers could hang with the Eagles.

Now I want to see if they can beat them.