Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was embarrassed a couple weeks ago when Bank of America Stadium was overfilled with San Francisco 49ers fans. One day later, and the Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule after a blowout loss to San Francisco.
Fast forward two weeks, and Tepper’s Panthers are hosting Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mere days after they traded All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers. By the looks of things, fans in Charlotte are not too excited about the product these Panthers are throwing out there against Tampa Bay.
That’s not even half filled. It’s embarrassing, especially with Carolina going up against the division rival Buccaneers and one of the greatest players in modern NFL history.
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Bank of America Stadium scene tells us all we need to know about the Carolina Panthers
Carolina’s starting quartertback for Sunday’s game, P.J. Walker, has thrown for 120 yards on the season. It’s leading rusher following the McCaffrey trade has 37 yards on the ground. Outside of D.J. Moore, the Panthers’ leading receiver is tight end Ian Thomas with 10 catches.
To say that it’s going to get ugly for a team that has lost 12 of 13 dating back to last season would be an understatement. The only question here is whether Bank of America Stadium will continue to be empty as what promises to be a long-term rebuild enters its initial stages. Oh, and the Carolina Panthers still have two weeks to trade off other veterans. How fun!