In a single day, the Carolina Panthers squad experienced a wave of emotions during a joint practice session with the Houston Texans. For one, tensions were higher than in a regular-season game, and a fight even broke out. Yet the moment that caught head coach Dave Canales‘ attention was something that happened earlier, when his QB1, Bryce Young, was struggling. It was déjà vu at first sight.

Last year, the Panthers struggled with their pre-snap game, and Canales was in the middle of it. “We had a bunch of pre-snap penalties. We got to address that. We got to make sure that we, whether it’s the cadence or we going early, whatever the thing is, we got to talk through that…..that game day excitement that might have gotten to some guys, so we needed that for sure, just to get a litmus test of where we’re at because we’ll be playing another game in about a week here.” And now, it’s happening again.

This recurring issue underscores a critical need for discipline and focus as the Panthers aim to improve upon last season’s performance. Now, the Panthers’ offense moved crisply through its early reps, and Young followed that momentum with the receivers in sync with his cadence. Midway through the session, however, one flag flew. Then another. And another. By the time Dave Canales had counted five pre-snap penalties in a single stretch, plus a pair of sacks on his young quarterback, his patience was gone. But Canales isn’t just preaching discipline for the sake of camp tidiness.

In his first season at the helm, the Panthers stumbled to a 5-12 record, and too often it was self-inflicted wounds that turned winnable games into losses. Furthermore, Canales’ Panthers not only struggled with penalties but also on defense. The team surrendered around 31.4 points per game, even worse than their 2019 mark of 29.4. They gave up 40 or more points in three games, 30 or more points in ten games, and managed to hold opponents under 20 points just once. Now, in 2025, he suddenly sees the playbook shrinking again. After the session concluded, Canales talked a lot about how frustrating it is to start drives backed up in first-and-long or second-and-long, but now he might need to hand out tougher consequences.

He told reporters, “We’ve overcome that at times, but it’s hard. It’s hard to get those explosives to get yourselves back on track. But it’s something that we keep teaching off of and also let them know (that) the guys (who) are repeat offenders, we’re not gonna be able to play you. You’re not gonna be able to help us if you keep putting us in bad situations.” But the day wasn’t a total loss. After the mess in the middle portion of practice, Young led two sharp two-minute touchdown drives to close the session, showing flashes of the fast, efficient attack Canales is trying to build.

Which brings us to the other emotions the Panther faced on the day. The penalties were just a minor part of the storyline. To put it simply, the Texans brought plenty of heat, both figuratively and literally, in a physical, competitive practice.

The Panthers and Dave Canales face the Texan heat

When the Panthers lined up against the Texans on Thursday, the competition quickly turned to high intensity. Around the end of the session, a heavy block from Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig on Houston’s Xavier Hutchinson nearly lit the fuse for a sideline brawl, and for a moment, it looked like things might boil over. Players crowded in, voices rose, but before it could explode, C.J. Stroud stepped in to cool tempers.

After practice, Moehrig told reporters he prides himself on playing with physicality and said he’s ready to handle whatever comes from it. He said, “For me, it’s really just going 100 percent. I mean, I’m not really trying to think, ‘Pull back.’ I’m just trying to play ball.” Fortunately, after the brawl, both Moehrig and Hutchinson were okay. The intensity shown by Moehrig tells the mentality behind the Panthers’ signing him on a three-year, $51 million deal this past spring, and in between the turbulence, it’s good news for Canales, which was evident last season, when Tre’von racked up 64 solo tackles, 40 assists, a sack, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions in 17 games.

For Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers, Thursday’s practice showed both promise and problems. While Bryce Young’s late touchdown drives proved they can move the ball, too many penalties and a near fight with the Texans showed discipline is still an issue. Canales wants his team to play tough like Tre’von Moehrig, but without the mistakes that hurt last year’s 5-12 season. Finding that balance could be the key to turning good moments into more wins.