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NFC South Showdown Ain’t Easy Road for Panthers

By John Woodcock

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The NFC South division is insistent on being the most frustrating thing in the world right now. By no measuring stick do the Carolina Panthers look like a playoff team, and yet here we are at 3-7-1 with a decent shot at still making the playoffs. The teams in front of us are Atlanta at 4-6 and New Orleans at 4-6. The best thing about the Panthers’ season now is that their schedule has already seen its hardest foes. Let’s look at what a road to the playoffs would take for the Panthers.

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Atlanta (4-6)

Schedule-
Cleveland
Arizona
At Green Bay
Pittsburgh
At New Orleans
Carolina

Cleveland is not bad. Neither is Arizona. Green Bay is murder. Pittsburgh depends on how the Steelers are feeling that day, but probably bad. We’ll give New Orleans the advantage at home and assume the Panthers win the return game for now. So that would be Atlanta at 0-6 for the rest of the run in this version. So for now, Falcons at 4-12.

New Orleans (4-6)

Schedule
Baltimore
At Pittsburgh
Carolina
At Chicago
Atlanta
At Tampa Bay

Panthers should remember Baltimore as pretty good. Pittsburgh at home in the cold is probably a good bet. The Saints will probably own the Panthers in the Dome. The Bears are falling apart. We already gave them the Falcons game. We should probably take them over Tampa Bay too.

I feel that New Orleans is the far more dangerous team than the Falcons at this point, which is why I would give them a 4-2 record the rest of the way. That is an 8-8 record at the end of the year. That would require the Panthers to go 5-1 in order to get to 8-7-1 and sneak into the division crown. Is that possible?

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    • Carolina (3-7-1)

    Schedule
    At Minnesota
    At New Orleans
    Tampa Bay
    Cleveland
    At Atlanta

    With the Panthers playing with the current set of players, the schedule is not given to a 5-1 finish. The Panthers would have to beat one of their two divisional rivals on the road AND Cleveland. Minnesota is the cold is no given, but they represent the weakest non-divisional opponent on the schedule.
    Cleveland was a predicted win at the beginning of the season, but the Browns have looked better as things have moved on.

    If there are any rabbits, we had better be pulling them rather quick.

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