The Carolina Panthers are strangely the best team in this stat originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When reflecting on this year’s NFL season, it has been full of surprises, arguably making it one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.
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From the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens being 6-7 and on the verge of missing the playoffs to teams making shocking runs at the top of their respective conferences, fans have not known what to expect every week.
Another pleasant surprise has come in the NFC South, as the Panthers currently sit on top of the division and are in the driver’s seat to clinch the division thanks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ Thursday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons and with three of their last four games, including two of them against the Buccaneers, the team they are jostling with for control this season.
With the Bucs dealing with numerous injuries throughout the season and the Panthers posting significant wins, it is increasingly likely that they will secure the division.
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The Panthers, at 7-6, are ironically the team with the best record in one-score games, at 6-1. Two of those wins came against two of the best teams in the NFC: the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams. They also hold a slim three-point victory over the Dallas Cowboys, who have been trying to make a late playoff push.
Coming into the season, the Panthers had some uncertainty at quarterback after benching Bryce Young late last year for underperformance, but with big-time performances against the Atlanta Falcons and the Rams last week, Young has shown flashes of being a franchise quarterback.
If the Panthers can clinch the NFC South, it will be the first time the franchise has won the division since the 2015 season, when they were led by MVP Cam Newton and appeared in Super Bowl 50, before ultimately losing to Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos.