Most of yesterday’s upset win over the Green Bay Packers felt like a fun, but ultimately inconsequential romp on a windy day. The Carolina Panthers and their fans were just happy to be in the conversation
with an opponent that was, and still largely is, considered to be the class of the NFC.
Nursing a one point lead deep into the third quarter, it seemed like only a matter of time before Jordan Love connected on one of his deep passing attempts and woke up the Packers normally prolific offense. Instead, Panthers safety picked off a Love pass 50-yards down field, returning it to the Green Bay 38, and set up the touchdown drive that allowed the Panthers to take a decisive lead.
Now, the Panthers are once again above .500 later in the season than they have been since the 2017 season. With a 5-4 record after the midpoint of the season and the meat of their divisional schedule ahead, we kind of have to start talking about the playoffs.
Yesterday the Panthers overcame strange field conditions (that the Packers could not) and a signature Bryce Young bone-headed mistake to beat the team with the then-best record in the NFC in their own vaunted house. There is no game left on the Panthers schedule that should be circled as an automatic loss. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the only thing worth talking about that I liked this week.
Yes, there is still a ton to worry about with Young’s ability to play quarterback, the depth and health along the offensive line, and the fact that we all know the wheels are going to fall off of this bus if and when Rico Dowdle’s hot hand cools off. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about this after these Panthers inexplicably drop both games to the Saints.
Right now we can reasonably say that the Panthers are contending for a wildcard spot and a winning record on the season.
Their remaining opponents are vs New Orleans Saints, at Atlanta Falcons, at San Francisco 49ers, vs Los Angeles Rams, at New Orleans Saints, vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers, vs Seattle Seahawks, and at Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Primetime pressures aside, none of those games are scarier than at Green Bay Packers. The Panthers almost certaintly are not going to run that table, but neither are all three of those NFC West teams going to make the playoffs. They are all sitting at 6-2 or 6-3, one win ahead of the Panthers, and they all still have multiple games against each other remaining.
Of course, the NFC North has the Bears, Lions, and Packers all sitting at five wins right now as well. The fight for a wildcard spot is going to get complicated. The 6-2 Bucs, meanwhile, have vs New England Patriots, at Buffalo Bills, and at Los Angeles Rams as their next three weeks. The NFC, and specifically the NFC South, could look wildly different in three weeks.
No matter what happens, the Panthers are poised to be part of the conversation for the playoffs for at least a couple of weeks in November.
That’s exciting for a team that has matched their highest win total (5) since 2022 with eight weeks left to play. Everything could fall apart from here, but that’s OK by me. We got here. We got here on the backs of a variety of new players stepping up and through the cunning of our head coach (mostly) making good decisions to maximize the talent of his team. The product I saw on the field yesterday was one trusted quarterback away from contention. So even if the wheels fall off this week, I’m still optimistic about what another year of development and rebuilding will bring to the field next season.
