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          Carolina Panthers' schedule 2020: Matt Rhule has chance to surprise

          • David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterMay 7, 2020, 08:34 PM ET
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              David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
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          The Carolina Panthers' schedule for 2020 was released Thursday.

          The regular season kicks off with the Houston Texans visiting the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, Sept. 10 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). The opening doubleheader for Monday Night Football will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers at the New York Giants (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos (10:20 p.m. ET) on Monday, Sept. 14.

          Check out the full week-by-week schedule here. Here’s what is in store for the Panthers:

          Game-by-game prediction

          Panthers reporter David Newton is predicting a 6-10 finish:

          Sept. 13: vs. Las Vegas Raiders, Win

          Sept. 20: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Loss

          Sept. 27: at Los Angeles Chargers, Loss

          Oct. 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals, Win

          Oct. 11: at Atlanta Falcons, Loss

          Oct. 18: vs. Chicago Bears, Loss

          Oct. 25: at New Orleans Saints, Loss

          Oct. 29: vs. Atlanta Falcons, Loss

          Nov. 8: at Kansas City Chiefs, Loss

          Nov. 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Win

          Nov. 22: vs. Detroit Lions, Win

          Nov. 29: at Minnesota Vikings, Loss

          Dec. 6: Bye

          Dec. 13: vs. Denver Broncos, Win

          Dec. 20: at Green Bay Packers, Loss

          Dec. 27: at Washington Redskins, Win

          Jan. 3: vs. New Orleans Saints, Loss

          Strength of schedule: .500 (15th easiest)

          Breakdown

          The Panthers are in a rebuilding mode under new coach Matt Rhule, but they have enough weapons offensively with Christian McCaffrey & Co. to remain competitive. Specifically, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater gives them the edge at that position over the Redskins, Chargers, Raiders and Broncos. Opening at home against a Raiders team that also is in rebuilding mode with three straight losing seasons gives Rhule a chance to win his first NFL game and set the tone for a very young roster. They won't face a team that had a winning record last season until a Week 7 matchup against the Saints.

          Hall of Fame row

          Few teams will face a stronger group of quarterbacks than the Panthers, who get Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan twice in the NFC South and also Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. That means half of the quarterbacks on the schedule have a legitimate shot to one day make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with Ryan perhaps the biggest long shot. Add the Lions' Matthew Stafford and the Cardinals' Kyler Murray and almost three-quarters of Carolina’s opponents have a legitimate franchise quarterback. That’s tough to win against, particularly with a defense that is so inexperienced, particularly in the secondary.

          Not built for prime time

          It's no surprise the Panthers have only one prime-time game on the schedule, a Thursday, Oct. 29 contest against NFC South rival Atlanta. The schedule full of 1 p.m. starts is something former coach Ron Rivera would have loved. If Rhule can pull off a home win in the opener against the Raiders and somehow slip past Tom Brady and the Bucs in Week 2, he’d have a chance to get on a roll with the Chargers and Cardinals next up. His goal is to put the team in position by midseason to at least make a run at the playoffs.