Carolina Panthers: 3 takeaways from Sunday’s loss
By Luke Tucker
On Sunday the Carolina Panthers (5-6) fell on the road to the New Orleans Saints (9-2) on a last-second field goal.
With Sunday’s 34-31 loss to the Saints, the Carolina Panthers’ postseason hopes are effectively dashed. As Ron Rivera would say, the game was one of “missed opportunities,” and one where the Panthers ultimately failed to come up with the proverbial “big play.” Carolina never led on Sunday, and drops to 5-6 on the season, four games out of first-place in the division, and a full three games back of the Vikings for the final wild-card spot.
According to Football Outsiders, Carolina has just a 0.7% chance to make the playoffs after losing on Sunday, however, that doesn’t mean the Panthers should just hang it up in 2019. One of the few things the Panthers have left to play for is Rivera’s job, who is highly respected in Charlotte and by the NFL community as a whole. In some cases, players will be fighting for their own jobs (looking at you, Joey Slye).
The Panthers have likely suffered their second-straight playoff-less season, and in large part due to some key injuries. Cam Newton and Kawann Short, two of Carolina’s most impactful players on their respective sides of the ball, both had their seasons end after the Week Two loss to Tampa Bay. First-round pick Brian Burns fractured his wrist early in the season, and hasn’t been quite the same since, and the team has been forced to endure injuries to multiple players in the secondary. On Sunday, it was kicker Graham Gano’s injury replacement that cost the Panthers the game.