As the Carolina Panthers head into their final four games of the season, they are in a spot no one thought they would be: 7-6 and tied for first in the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After some well-deserved R&R, the Panthers return from their bye week to play the New Orleans Saints, hoping to wash away the taste of their last loss against a struggling division opponent a few weeks ago.
Then, if the Panthers can handle business on the road in New Orleans, they face a high-stakes showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing them twice in the final three games.
If the Panthers split the season series against Tampa Bay, then the tiebreaker will likely go in the Buccaneers’ favor — which makes this week’s matchup against the Saints all the more important.
The Panthers really need to beat the Saints, Bucs and Seattle Seahawks to win the division and guarantee a spot in the playoffs.
But for head coach Dave Canales and his crew, they are compartmentalizing the remainder of their season by taking it week by week.
They’ve defied expectations to this point by doing so, and giving Panthers hope they haven’t felt since the Cam Newton era.
While I still have my doubts about Bryce Young’s durability and toughness during the most physically taxing portion of the season, he was impressive in last week’s victory, hanging in the pocket and coming up clutch with two touchdowns on fourth down.
The Carolina defense has also given the Panthers faithful plenty to cheer for this season. Mike Jackson’s pick-six interception against Matt Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams was so electric, you could almost feel it elevating the fan base to a new level of passion this season.
“On film, they kind of liked that route,” Jackson told reporters after the win. “It was either — on film they ran an out or an out and up — so it was kind of like just take a chance and live with the result.”
Those types of plays are what the organization has been missing amidst an eight-year playoff drought. That type of aggressiveness.
Why not take a gamble when you have nothing left to lose?Jackson’s pick-six has been emblematic of the evolution of this team under Coach Canales. The Panthers went for it on fourth down three times against the Rams and converted all three attempts. As a big-time underdog in gotta-have-it situations, Canles trusted his offense and his young QB to pick it up.
This level of trust and gall is what I, as a Panthers fan, have wanted to see for so long and what I think makes this season so special.
One week after a close win, Canales was heard in the locker room apologizing to his team and taking accountability for the playcall.
Since that moment, you can tell the Panthers are playing without fear, and Canales has been calling plays to win the game, not to prevent them from losing — and there’s a noticeable difference.
The balanced playcall between the run and the pass has weaponized the play action for Young and the offense, and as much as it sounds cliche, with the defense complementing the work offensively, this is turning into a very decent football team. I’m still seeing too many wide-receiver screens to Xavier Legette for little gain, but I have faith in Canales and the coaching staff to continue to polish the offense down the stretch.
For now, all eyes are set on the Panthers’ next game against the Saints, a must-win to keep the ball rolling in Carolina.