2.) Lack of Discipline

Coach Ron Rivera’s teams have never had a glaring lack of discipline, but this one isn’t off to a good start. They’ve totaled 26 penalties so far in 2016, which will likely land them inside the top-5 for the most through three games.

Of the 10 calls against Carolina on Sunday, none was bigger than the block above the waist on Benjamin that brought back what would have been a 56-yard touchdown catch and run by Fozzy Whittaker.

“I think it was it was two-sided. One hand was on the back of his shoulder and the other was on the front. But they ended up making the call,” Benjamin said.

“As a team, you can’t leave it in the officials’ hands. When you got a team down 10-something, you’ve got to finish.”

And while you may have your own No. 1 reason for why the Panthers lost, flags were at the top of Rivera’s list.

“You can’t have ten penalties for 65 yards with the number of plays that were negated,” he said. “We shot ourselves in the foot.

“This goes back to the mistakes we made and the silly penalties we had more than anything else. That goes on me. Like I said, it’s about discipline, and if we aren’t playing disciplined, then I’m not doing something right. So I have to get that corrected.”