CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers have every right to feel down heading into their Week 5 game against the Chicago Bears (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
They are 1-3 following Sunday's 34-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Bank of America Stadium, and history shows they have little chance of making the playoffs with that kind of a start.
Injuries continue to mount, particularly on the defensive side, where Shaq Thompson was carted off the field Sunday with a lower leg injury.
Next week's opponent, the Bears, is the team they traded with so they could draft quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft -- and Young's future as a franchise quarterback is shaky at best since being benched after an 0-2 start.
But instead of gloom and doom, the Panthers (1-3) left Sunday's loss to what had been a winless Bengals team surprisingly upbeat. Instead of letting the game get out of hand, as it did Weeks 1 and 2 when they lost by a combined 73-13, they were within a touchdown before Cincinnati kicked a field goal with 1:14 to play.
"We didn't lose anything today,'' said quarterback Andy Dalton, 1-1 as the starter since replacing Young. "This was an NFL football game. It came down to a couple of plays that made the difference. We're going to go back and look at the tape and say, 'Man, if we had just done that, the outcome could have been different.'
"For us, at least we're putting something out there we know that we can build on.''
There was that sense of optimism throughout the locker room, something that was nowhere to be found during the first two games when the Panthers looked like the worst team in the NFL.
Dalton is a big reason. His ability to stretch the field with deep passes that Young seldom attempted has opened up the run game for Chuba Hubbard, who has rushed for 218 yards over the past two weeks (104 Sunday) after totaling 78 the first two games.
That's enabled first-year coach Dave Canales to open up the offensive playcalling, something he seemed hesitant to do with Young under center.
It's given the team an identity.
"The whole team, just the energy is different,'' wide receiver Diontae Johnson said. "I feel like it's a different team. We were down by two [touchdowns], but we came back. We've still got that dawg in us, and we're not gonna give up.''
As Johnson and others pointed out, the typical NFL game comes down to a couple of plays. This one was no different. They had four dropped passes (tied for their second most in a game since 2011), none bigger than Johnson's on a fade route in the end zone on the opening series when the Panthers failed to score after going for it on fourth down.
"It was big,'' Johnson said of not making the second-and-goal catch from the 1-yard line. "Regardless of where the ball was thrown, I should have made a play on it.''
The make-no-excuse mentality is something Canales has been trying to instill, and this was one of many signs it's beginning to take hold.
There also was a drop on a fake punt that could have changed the outcome, but there was no pointing of fingers.
Instead, there were fingers pointed at how well rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette (6 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD) stepped up in the first game since starter Adam Thielen went on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
There was praise for the defense that already was down three starters (defensive linemen Derrick Brown, nose guard Shy Tuttle, safety Jordan Fuller) when Thompson went down.
"We just believe in ourselves,'' said Johnson, who finished with seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. "The game plan the past two weeks ... just being comfortable is the main thing, just playing as a unit, just letting Andy lead, making plays. That's where everything builds confidence throughout the unit.
"It just comes down to the details.''
A big topic this week will be Young's failure as a franchise quarterback thus far, especially since the Panthers sent two first-round picks (2023, 2024), wide receiver DJ Moore and a 2025 second-round pick to the Bears so they could draft Young -- and the Bears used that 2024 pick to draft quarterback Caleb Williams, who is 2-2 despite some struggles.
But Canales and his players aren't looking back at that. They're looking at the progress of the past two games and what this team can become after six straight losing seasons.
"It's a different vibe,'' cornerback Jaycee Horn said. "Even though we lost, we kind of walk away from the game knowing we're getting a little better.''