Soft Late-Season Schedule Gives Reeling Panthers a Glimmer of Hope

Bill Voth
4 years ago
Categories: News, Week 10: at Eagles
Tags: 49ers, Bengals, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Ravens, Ron Rivera, Saints, Steelers

(UPDATED TO REFLECT SUNDAY’S RESULTS)

The Panthers had been living dangerously the last few weeks, and their loss Thursday night against the Saints finally knocked them off NFC South’s top spot.But all is not lost … yet.“Anything’s possible. Don’t count us out. We’re going to bounce back,” head coach Ron Rivera said Friday. “We’ll have a little bit of time to get some rest. We’re going to get a whole bunch of guys back on the practice field on Wednesday, which gives me a lot of confidence.””We have seven to play and we’ve got a lot of hay to make up.”Of their final seven games, the Panthers play just two teams that have winning records: the Eagles and Browns.It may take a minor miracle, but unless the Saints pull away — which they may — the Panthers could still find themselves in a late-season playoff push.

PANTHERS’ PAST OPPONENTS

Opponent	Record
Buccaneers	1-7
Lions	6-2
Steelers	6-3
Ravens	5-4
Bears	3-5
Bengals	5-2-1
Packers	5-3
Seahawks	5-3
Saints	4-4
TOTAL	40-33-1

PANTHERS’ UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Opponent	Record
at Eagles	6-2
vs/at Falcons	2-6
at Vikings	4-5
at Saints	4-4
vs Bucs	1-7
vs Browns	5-3
TOTAL	22-27

NOTES

• Just two of the Panthers’ first nine opponents are currently below .500. Three of their final six opponents are below .500, including the 2-6 Falcons, who the Panthers play twice.
• The team to follow the rest of the way is obviously the Saints, who are 4-4. Their upcoming schedule features opponents that have a combined record of 29-36-2. While that’s a bit harder than Carolina’s, most of the Saints’ tougher games are at the Superdome.
• If the Panthers lose in Philadelphia, they’ll be 3-6-1. But let’s say they then sweep the Falcons, beat the Vikings, Bucs and Browns, and lose to the Saints in New Orleans. An 8-7-1 record would perhaps give them a shot.
• So in the above scenario, where the Panthers finish 8-7-1, the Saints would have to lose four of these eight games for the Panthers to win the division: vs. 49ers, vs. Bengals, vs. Ravens, at Steelers, vs. Panthers, at Chicago, vs. Falcons, at Buccaneers.