CHARLOTTE — It's finally time to come home. The Panthers are in Bank of America Stadium on Sunday for what is not only their home opener, but their sole home game in the month of September. The Panthers (0-2) are coming in winless, but this will be the first divisional matchup of the season for Carolina, facing the Atlanta Falcons (1-1), who are 0-1 in the NFC South after losing their opener to the Bucs.

It's a chance to reset the narrative about who these 2025 Carolina Panthers are, gain a foothold in the division, and showcase a new team to Charlotte.

"The guys are all excited to be at home," Dave Canales said on Friday. "They're excited to be in our stadium, in Bank of America Stadium in front of our fans, to be able to continue to build this thing, and really just become this team that we're looking to become."

Slowing down the Falcons' pass rush

The Falcons went out this offseason and loaded up on their front seven, particularly their pass-rush. The defense added two rookies, Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., who both have already registered a sack, while Pearce boasts the fifth-highest pressure rate (24.1 percent) in the NFL so far. They joined a front that includes Zach Harrison (1.5 sacks), Brandon Dorlus (1.5 sacks), and Ruke Orhorhoro (0.5 sacks). The unit as a whole has 7.0 sacks, which is Top 5 in the league. And don't forget about Kaden Elliss. Even from inside, the linebacker has a pass defended and a quarterback hit.

It means everyone on the field for the Panthers offense will see their assignments stressed even more, their attention pinpoint focused. The new personnel also changed the Falcons' scheme from what Carolina faced last season.

"The new pieces to the defense, a little different scheme," explained running back Chuba Hubbard. "I guess the biggest thing is just the D-line. Before, they're kind of a two-gap type of defense. Now they're kind of upfield penetrating, which obviously has worked really well for them this year. They look like they're flying around, so it'll be good."

The challenge did take a step up this week with center Austin Corbett and right guard Robert Hunt both going on injured reserve. It should be noted though, both guys were injured and sidelined during the Week 18 game against the Falcons last season, with Cade Mays and Chandler Zavala starting in their respective places. That same duo will start this week.

The Panthers famously brought back their entire starting offensive line and back-ups this offseason, meaning the change this week feels much less daunting.

"All the guys trust me and all the coaches, they trust me," said Zavala this week, as to how the continuity helps. "It feels really good. Especially like, we still have (practice squad lineman) Brandon Walton and a lot of other guys, so they were here last year, so it's a good thing."

Can the run defense hold up?

The run defense, save one 30-yard explosive run from Kyler Murray, put up their best defensive performance since Week 3 of last season. There is still much to be done, and as Dave Canales always says, show us you can do it week-to-week; but anytime you can hold Murray, James Conner, and crew to 82 yards, there is encouraging tape from which to work.

Now the challenge is doing it again versus an even more formidable opponent: Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is also no stranger to escaping the pocket and carrying the ball himself in certain situations.

It is Robinson, though, who will garner the bulk and initial attention. He has forced the fourth-most missed tackles (13) and generated the third-most missed tackle yards this season (87).

"He's complete, he's got speed, he's got quickness, he's got the jump cut, he's got power, he's a receiver, he's good in protection," noted defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

"I mean very, very complete and he's got that home run ability and so we know he's a heck of a player, he's hard to tackle and the message is we need more than one guy at the party to tackle this guy and so we've got to get the population to the ball because we're not going to have a good day we're trying to make a lot of one on one tackles on him."

To Evero's point, another thing that makes Robinson interesting to game plan for is how the Falcons employ him as a receiver at times. Since entering the NFL, he has recorded more receptions from a wide receiver alignment than any other running back during that time. He is currently the Falcons' leading rusher and receiver, with 125 yards to his name plus a touchdown as the latter.

"You treat him like a receiver because that's how dynamic a playmaker and athlete he is," explained corner Jaycee Horn. "So usually when corners get running backs out there, we kind of fall asleep a little bit, but with him, you've got to stay locked in because you know what he could do as a pass catcher."

How does Legette bounce back?

Dave Canales was honest this week, pointing out that second-year receiver Xavier Legette has not had the start anyone would hope, with four receptions on 15 targets for eight yards, Legette most of all. But the coach also put his complete support behind the former first-round pass-catcher, saying he still believed in what Legette could bring to this offense.

So what does that look like?

Through the first two weeks, Legette has played 79.2 percent of the offensive snaps. That's likely to stay the same, based on Canales' statement, unless the hamstring soreness that popped up this week and limited the receiver worsens between now and Sunday. The South Carolina product knows that means he has to honor that trust and perform.

"I'm just trying to go about it the right way, Legette said this week. "I'm just trying to stay on the course and keep just, keep pushing. The storm doesn't last forever, so the good days come."

Legette finished with 49 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns in his rookie season. He scored the second touchdown of his season against the Falcons in Week 6. His previous prediction and approach in practice are why Bryce Young is confident in what Legette can still bring to the field.

"I have all the confidence in the world in him; he's a great player. He's going to be great for us," said Young on Wednesday. "He's a huge part of this offense. It's not any sort of like wavering, any sort of—there's nothing like that. I'm excited for this week. I'm excited for the weeks following for him. I see how hard he works. I see how much he cares. I see the person and the player that he is, and I'm grateful that he's part of the unit. So, yeah, I have all the confidence in the world in him."

Can a fast start lead to a balanced attack?

The Panthers haven't been able to really establish their run game yet, due to deficits early on in the action. When they have run, Chuba Hubbard has averaged 3.7 yards per carry, while Rico Dowdle averages 2.3. If the offense can get off to a faster start on Sunday, Canales should be able to dip into the run game part of his play call sheet more.

"We just talk about execution, and that's always the goal," said Canales of what it will take to find the kind of start and sustainability they're looking for. "The goal is to make sure that we're just doing our job, do your one-eleventh. That's really all it's about. All of us have a role, myself included, and so we just asked the guys to focus on that because that's where those early drive successes come.

"It comes down to execution. It's all guys working together whether it's offense or defense or special teams. Starting fast is about execution. Can we be in the right mental space to just do our job?"

Added Hubbard, "We pride ourselves on running the ball, being a physical team, so just to be able to put ourselves in a position where we can just continue to run the ball throughout all four quarters, that's the plan."

Running the ball did become presumably more difficult this week, thanks to the offensive line changes. It should be noted, though, this is the line that was on the field in that Week 18 win, the Panthers rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns.

"There was some good chemistry in there in the run game and the protections," Canales said of that Week 18 performance on the offensive line last season, before looking back to this week. "I was really pleased with their week of work and feel very confident about Cade and Chandler getting out there, playing for us."

If the running game can start with more of a footing, we should see a better example of how the Panthers want to split reps between Hubbard and Dowdle. Thus far, Hubbard has been on the field for 106 snaps with 34 touches, and Dowdle has played 47 snaps with 12 touches. Dowdle has primarily been a third-down back on drives Hubbard starts, and vice versa with Hubbard coming in on drives Dowdle has started.

Both know more is on the horizon, perhaps Sunday, with a faster start.

"We hurt ourselves early (previously), so it's kind of been pretty unbalanced," noted Dowdle. "We've been in passing situations, getting behind early, but to answer your question, I think, obviously we got good backs back there in the backfield and great O-line, so I think we can—once it's a balanced game we'll be able to run the ball definitely, think we can be very effective and keep the game in our favor."

The pass rush rotations

Penix Jr. may be making only his sixth start in the NFL (eighth game overall), but his tape already shows a passer well-versed in dealing up and down the field.

"Mike, he's very, very talented, he's got a live arm," said Evero of the Falcons' second-year quarterback. "I mean, his arm is electric. He could get the ball to any part of the field, and he certainly— even when he came in last year at the end of the year, he certainly seems like he plays with a lot of confidence on tape, and so he's a commanding, great arm.

"The scheme is challenging and so, but in terms of the concepts and stuff, it doesn't feel like they're doing too much different. It's just, they do a good job of execution, and they do a good job of window dressing their looks, and Mike seems to have a good handle on that."

Penix has targeted different areas of the field as well, going 8-10 on screens, 25-35 on intermediate passes, and 5-7 on passes between 10 and 20 yards. He has attempted four passes between 20 and 40 yards, but those have all been incomplete. He has faced quarterback pressure on 40 percent of his passes, which is the 10th most in the NFL through two weeks, but taken only 4.0 sacks.

The Panthers will look to get after him with a rotation of pass-rushers this week, with Patrick Jones II out, recovering from a hamstring injury suffered against the Cardinals.

"Opportunities, right, for guys to step up, something we talked about, the young guys being out there getting experience, and really becoming pros. They're here for a reason," said Canales on Friday.

The primary guy opposite D.J. Wonnum will be rookie Nic Scourton. The second-rounder out of Texas A&M had 15.0 sacks over the course of his last two years in college.

"Nic Scourton will get more of the reps on first and second down. Princely Umanmielen still has a nice role for us in our known pass types of situations with the rush and all that, but we're asking Nic to be a stud and step up, you know, and he went about it the right way this week, and he worked his butt off; he was flying around. He's excited about the opportunity."