CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers opened with two straight losses and appeared headed for another losing season. The third-year quarterback taken with the top pick of the draft hadn't played well. There was speculation the head coach could be fired. The fan base was disgruntled.
Then the defense pitched a shutout in a home game at Bank of America Stadium in which the offense had a huge day.
This is 2025.
This also was 2013.
That team lost the week after a 38-0 victory against the New York Giants to fall to 1-3 and increase speculation head coach Ron Rivera would be fired. It then won eight straight and 11 of the last 12 games to secure the NFC South division title.
The future of the 2025 Panthers (1-2) has yet to be decided. Following their 30-0 Week 3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, they head into Sunday's game against the New England Patriots (1-2) in Foxboro, Massachusetts (1 p.m. ET, Fox)
But a key member of the 2013 team sees elements in the current squad that remind him of what Carolina did 12 years ago -- particularly on defense, even though the 2013 team used a 4-3 base and this year's unit is 3-4.
"There's some similarities to what we have in the defensive line,'' said former Pro Bowl middle linebacker Luke Kuechly. "Up front, you've got a really good opportunity to be good.''
The 2013 unit, despite having some older veterans who drove up the average age (26.9), was also built around young stars such as Kuechly, in his second season, second-year cornerback Josh Norman and rookie defensive tackles Star Lotulelei (first round) and Kawann Short (second round).
This year's team is the fourth youngest (25.8 years, per Elias) in the NFL, built around second- and third-round rookie edge rushers Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen, second-year middle linebacker Trevin Wallace, second-year cornerback Chau Smith-Wade, fifth-year cornerback Jaycee Horn and 27-year-old 2023 Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown.
The influx of young players hasn't happened by accident. Coach Dave Canales told defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero after the season-opening 26-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to get younger players more game action.
Injuries played a role in the increase, but Scourton and Umanmielen have benefited the most. Scourton went from 27% of the snaps in the opener to 73% on Sunday. Umanmielen went from 12% to 52%. Safety Lathan Ransom also saw a big uptick, going from 14% to 52%.
"I'm really proud of the way they're just developing and working,'' Canales said. "Just picking one guy, Nic Scourton works his butt off in practice, and he gives everything he has. He's taking to coaching and the principals.
"It's a trust factor. The trust will continue to grow with these guys.''
The 2013 team also made changes between the opener and the third game, replacing safeties Quinten Mikell and Charles Godfrey with Robert Lester and Mike Mitchell. Injuries also played a role, and Carolina traded middle linebacker Jon Beason and replaced him with Chase Blackburn, who was a force on special teams.
The influence of special teams players getting more snaps on defense has been evident this season. Canales was so impressed with the play of his kickoff team on Sunday that he declared it "exemplifies who we want to be.''
He is trying to capture the energy of players who move from special teams to defense. Ransom, who forced a late fumble against Atlanta to preserve the shutout, exemplifies that.
"Motor guys,'' Scourton said. "We're kind of like energizer bunnies. There can't be any dropoff.''
That hasn't gone unnoticed by Scourton's teammates.
"He's got a motor,'' veteran safety Nick Scott said. "He just doesn't stop, and we need more of that.''
Can the Panthers' defense show the same type of improvement that the 2013 squad had in scoring defense? The Panthers ranked 26th in points allowed (26.6 per game) in 2012 and finished second in 2013 (15.1). The 2024 Panthers ranked last in scoring defense (31.4). After Sunday's shutout, they rank eighth (17.7).
"We can be an unstoppable force,'' Umanmielen said on Sunday.
Canales said before the season the Panthers defense would be the type that nobody would want to play, and they looked the part on Sunday.
That's the way the 2013 group played as well.
"We had a really good flux of older guys that were willing to teach and young guys that were willing to learn,'' Kuechly said. "That's just a really good combination. From what I've seen of the young guys [this year] they're willing to get better, willing to be a part of the team.
"If we can be consistent like we played on Sunday, we've got a chance to be a really good football team.''