THE Carolina Panthers looked like a real NFL team for a few minutes in the first quarter, scoring an opening touchdown for the first time in Bryce Young’s professional career. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there and the Panthers didn’t score again until late in the fourth quarter. The Denver Broncos then win 28-14 at homehanding Carolina its fifth straight loss and dropping its record for the year to 1-7.

If only that was the extent of the situation. Because this particular franchise seems cursed, it has also suffered a few more injuries, adding to an already long list of players who are currently banged up. Here’s a quick look at who faced the Broncos.

The biggest injury of the day was to DJ Johnson, who suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter and was considered questionable to return, but was later ruled out. If Johnson ends up missing time, it would be another brutal blow to an already weak outside linebacker unit. The impending return of DJ Wonnum could blunt at least some of the impact, however.

The team also saw special teams tight end Feleipe Franks go down with a head injury. It’s hard to tell exactly what happened from the broadcast, but there was a skirmish afterward between several Broncos and Panthers players. Franks immediately left the field and was quickly ruled out with a concussion.

Along the way, Carolina also suffered some minor injuries to key players. In the second quarter, rookie receiver Xavier Legette limped off the fieldsparking fears about an already battered wide receiver corps. But he quickly returns to action. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu also sat out for a series in the second half, but returned on the next drive. We’ll have to wait and see if either one shows up on next week’s injury report.

Panthers expected to trade Diontae Johnson to NFC East at deadline

NFL Insider Reveals Panthers’ Asking Price for Biggest Trade Bait

Jonathan Jones in “Frankenstein’s Monster” The panthers have become

NFL Trade Deadline: Panthers Could Move From $20M DL