Carolina Panthers: Thursday Night Throwdown Critical
The Carolina Panthers go into an important matchup with the New Orleans Saints needing a win badly.
The Carolina Panthers are now 3-6 after letting a game against the Kansas City Chiefs slip away. The only benefit to them was that divisional rivals New Orleans and Atlanta lost as well so the Panthers did not lose ground. The bad news is that the Panthers lost an opportunity to make up ground. They need the Falcons to lose two MORE games and it is less certain where those games come from.
The Panthers have win all of their remaining games for their part. That must start tonight with a Thursday night showdown with the Saints. History is a little bit on the Panthers side since the Panthers are due to win their remaining divisional games after their 0-3 start. It is also helpful that the Panthers will be playing at home away from the fast track in the Superdome.
Like the Panthers, the Saints also are looking up at the Falcons. Also like the Panthers their identity has not changed much since the first game. The offense depends on Drew Brees and the defense is suspect. The one difference was a renewed Saints pass rush last week against the Broncos. That could be a cause for concern considering the patchwork nature of the Panthers line right now.
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Hopefully Ryan Kalil can help fix that problem. Not only could he help pass blocking the middle but he can be part of a push to get Jonathan Stewart off and running. Stewart will be the best weapon against the Saints’ rejuvenated pass rush.
The other best friend will be the football. The Panthers need to execute long drives and keep Brees off the field.
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Turnovers are a no-no. The Panthers had two brain farts (Cam and Kelvin) last Sunday and it cost them the game against the Chiefs. If this game is as close as the last one then those brain farts could decide the game once again.
Local television is NBC or the NFL Network on cable. Root hard.