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The Panthers have lost just once to an AFC South team in the Ron Rivera era.

Carolina went 3-1 against that division in 2011 with the only loss coming in a 30-3 rout against the Titans. The Panthers will take another run through the AFC South this season, and while rosters look much different than they did four years ago, it’s certainly not one of the tougher divisions in the NFL.

The Panthers also play the NFC East this year. They’re a combined 4-3 against those teams.

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Since 2011, the Panthers are 8-22-1 against teams that finished with a winning record. That’s a winning percentage of just 27 percent.

You can look at that in a couple ways: 1) Carolina doesn’t play well against good teams; 2) at least they tend to beat teams they should. 

But obviously, if they want to become one of the better teams in the league, they have to do a better job beating some of those better teams.

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One more from the Rivera era: The Panthers have a 26-11-1 record when they’ve scored first.

So much of this regime’s success depends on playing ahead.

The other side of that stat: Rivera and the Panthers have won just seven games when they haven’t scored first.

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