CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu saw signs in practice that the Carolina Panthers weren't going to be sharp on Sunday. Too many repeated plays. Players weren't locked into the "small details." Not enough focus.
It was so noticeable that coach Dave Canales spoke to the team about it. Not once, but multiple times.
On Sunday, the poor preparation turned into an embarrassing 17-7 loss to a New Orleans Saints team that entered with one win in nine games. It came a week after the Panthers (5-5) upset the Green Bay Packers (5-2-1) at Lambeau Field.
Sunday put Carolina's hopes of making a playoff run for the first time since 2017 in grave jeopardy in part because it was a home loss, in part because it was an NFC South loss and largely because it was to a bad Saints team that entered the day tied with the Tennessee Titans for the worst record in the NFL.
"You can't get days back," Ekwonu said. "If you have a bad day on Thursday, tough day on Friday, or whatever, you can always look forward but you can't get that day back. So that preparation, a lack thereof, it's going to add up.
"Unfortunately, it just cultivated into what we saw.''
Quarterback Bryce Young knew it. The frustration and agitation could be heard in his voice. He spent much of his news conference owning up to the dysfunction of the offense.
His interception with just over 12 minutes remaining was the most visible mistake. He badly missed wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with Carolina trailing by three.
That led to a New Orleans touchdown, and it went downhill from there.
"I don't like to lose," said Young, who saw his four-game win streak as the starter end with 126 yards passing, an interception and a lost fumble. "No one likes to lose. I'm definitely frustrated.
"But that frustration isn't with the team. That's not with anybody. We didn't be the best version our ourselves that we're chasing, that we know we can be."
The Panthers did little right after taking a 7-0 lead on their opening possession with a 5-yard rush by running back Rico Dowdle. After being fined $14,491 last week for his pelvic hip thrust celebration, Dowdle had a laugh by doing zero pumps.
Zero pumps@BudLight | #ForTheCelly pic.twitter.com/FbIULA84ZJ
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 9, 2025
But that was the end of the fun for Carolina, which had 128 yards of total offense after the 67-yard drive.
"Everybody [saw] the same thing we [saw]: missed opportunities," said Dowdle, who entered the game as the league's third-leading rusher and was limited to 53 yards on 18 carries (2.9 YPC) by the ninth-worst rush defense. "Missed opportunities and a lack of execution."
Canales took much of the blame for the performance that amplified Carolina's recent limitations in the passing game, particularly downfield.
"We need better execution, and that starts with me, making sure we have the right schemes for our guys," Canales said.
But almost in the same breath, he said Young was "throwing the ball great" even though his quarterback had an interception overturned by a roughing the passer penalty and two tipped passes at the line that could have been picked off.
Young summed up his day more realistically on the interception.
"Bad, bad read, bad ball," he said.
Canales also held back on being critical of wide receiver Xavier Legette, saying he was "running fast, doing everything we ask of him'' on a day when the 2024 first-round pick had no catches on one target to give him three catches for 39 yards in the past three games.
Sunday's loss as a 6.3-point favorite extended their losing streak to 11 outright losses as a favorite, the most consecutive in the Super Bowl era.
It should also be noted the last time before Sunday that Carolina lost as an outright favorite was Week 15 in 2024 when the Dallas Cowboys rolled to a 30-14 victory as a 2.5-point underdog.
Perhaps the good news is Carolina might not be favored again over the final seven games against the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay twice.
The bad news is had Carolina won and followed that with a victory over an Atlanta team it already has beaten 30-0 it would be 7-4, and in solid position for a stretch run.
"It sucks right now," Young said. "It is what it is. We'll turn the page tomorrow."
But as Ekwonu reminded, you can't get days like Sunday back.
"The mindset this week, the preparation this week, wasn't good enough," he said. "I feel like it showed on Sunday."