The Carolina Panthers made the playoffs last year after winning a three-way tiebreaker for the NFC South title. This year, weirdly, they're not expected to compete for the playoffs. Most cite the fact that they overperformed last year and now face a first-place schedule. The schedule this year has six playoff teams on it . The schedule in 2025 had seven, including both Super Bowl representatives. The Panthers are also much better after free agency and the draft. Their roster is in pretty solid shape. Yet, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport didn't include them at all when talking about "every NFL contender" for the playoffs next year. They didn't even warrant a mention about whether or not we should buy or sell their candidacy. Every other team in the NFC South was named except the Panthers, with the Falcons being deemed the only actual contender. That's ridiculous, and here's why.…